PINEAPPLES

Season: Year-round; best in spring and summer

As winter gives way to spring around the beginning of March, we start tiring of dried fruits and the last of the previous season’s harvest of apples and pears. The first tender spinach and watercress are sprouting up in the markets, and the farmers are promising that asparagus is just around the corner, but fresh, lush, warm-weather fruit still seems far, far away. So we simply grant ourselves an exemption from our rule of relying only on local produce and look to the tropics, from whence ripe pineapples are being sent in our direction.

The pineapple, Ananas comosus, is native to Central and South America. Christopher Columbus’s men found pineapples being cultivated on the island now called Guadeloupe in 1493; whole fruits or their leafy tops were displayed outside homes as symbols of hospitality. The Spanish called them simply piñas, or “pinecones”; our English word for them acknowledges the resemblance and adds the suffix “-apple,” reminding us that they are, in fact, fruits. More poetically, the indigenous South American name, ananas (adopted as the pineapple’s official botanical generic name and as its common name in French and several other languages), means “fragrant excellent fruit.”

Soon after their discovery in the New World, pineapples were growing in greenhouses across Europe and spreading through the tropics. Although Hawaii and pineapples are inextricably linked in the minds of mainland Americans, pineapples did not arrive there until after European contact, late in the eighteenth century. The Hawaiian word for pineapple, halakahiki, means “foreign fruit.”

Because the majority of commercial pineapple growers rely on chemical fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides, it is especially important to find and encourage sources of organically grown fruit. Quantities of delicious organic pineapples are beginning to come to market from Hawaii (mainly Maui) and from Mexico and Central America. Pineapples are in markets all year long, but in our experience they are sweetest and most abundant in spring, from March through June.

To be good, pineapples must be picked ripe. Although the fruits typically spend a year or so developing, the final concentration of sugar happens in a matter of days, and the fruit must be harvested at the last moment. Only air freight can deliver the freshest, ripest Hawaiian pineapples. Mexican pineapples can be delicious, but they are less consistently good than Hawaiian pineapples.

Most pineapples in the market are a variation of one type, the Cayenne, which has large fruit with yellow flesh that is not too fibrous. Esmeralda is a Cayenne type we like that comes from Mexico. You may also find Sugarloaf, which has smaller fruit and white to pale yellow flesh.

Columbus’s men were “astonished and delighted” by the flavor and aroma of the pineapples they discovered, and so should you be when you buy one. The best way to choose a good pineapple is to pick it up and smell it. There should be a definite aroma of pineapple, with no sour or fermented odors that would indicate spoilage. The fruit should give just a little when pressed gently, but there should be no soft spots. Reject fruit with watery or dark patches on the skin, and check the stem end for mold.

The color of the skin is not an indicator of ripeness. A green-skinned pineapple can be as ripe and sweet as a golden one. Deep green leaves are a good sign of freshness, but checking if they can be pulled out easily is not a true test of ripeness. Shun fruit that has dried or brown leaves. Choose a size that makes sense for you, but remember that larger pineapples yield a higher proportion of usable flesh for the same amount of prep work. Once you get them home, very firm pineapples will benefit from softening a day or two at room temperature, but they won’t get sweeter.

Trimming and peeling a fresh pineapple is not difficult if you have a sharp knife. Cut the crown of leaves and a bit more off the top, then cut off the bottom. Stand the pineapple on end and cut off a thickish layer of the skin. I like to use a boning knife to do this because it follows the shape of the fruit better. There are several good ways to trim out the “eyes.” Use the point of a stainless-steel potato peeler to dig them out, or remove them by using a small sharp knife to cut V-shaped grooves that follow the spiral patterning of the eyes. Cut the peeled fruit into wedges and trim out the fibrous core, then slice or cut into chunks, as the recipe directs.

The sweet-tart flavor of fresh pineapple is welcome after a rich meal, either by itself or with other tropical fruits in a macédoine. We often caramelize pineapple in a pan with butter and sugar to heighten its flavor before using it in more elaborate desserts. A sprinkling of kirsch is also a nice complementary flavor booster. Never use raw pineapple in dishes that contain gelatin: an enzyme in the fruit will disable its gelling properties. Cooking the pineapple deactivates the enzyme.

GINGER PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

TOPPING

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2¼ cups quarter slices fresh pineapple (peel, quarter, core, and slice ¼ inch thick)

2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger

BATTER

1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger

2 eggs, separated, room temperature

½ cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Use a 9-inch round or an 8-inch square cake pan with 3-inch sides. To make the topping, put the butter and brown sugar in the cake pan, place the pan on a stovetop burner over low heat, and melt, stirring with a wooden spoon. When the mixture starts to caramelize, turning a slightly darker shade of brown, remove from the heat and let cool. Arrange the slices of pineapple evenly in the bottom of the pan and scatter the candied ginger over it. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the cake batter, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and ginger. Add the egg yolks one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each to make sure everything is thoroughly incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredients and milk in stages: mix in about a third of the flour mixture, followed by about half the milk; mix in another third of the flour, then the rest of the milk; finally, add the last third of the dry ingredients.

In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat the whites until they form firm peaks. Fold the whites into the batter in two batches to lighten it. Pour the batter over the topping in the prepared pan and bake until the top is slightly brown and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 50 to 60 minutes. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a serving plate. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream flavored with a little vanilla.

Makes one 9-inch round cake or one 8-inch square cake; serves 8.

PINEAPPLE FRANGIPANE TART

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3½ cups quarter slices fresh pineapple (peel, quarter, core, and slice ¼ inch thick)

¼ cup sugar

10 ounces galette dough, rolled into a 14-inch circle

½ cup frangipane

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a pizza stone, if you have one, on a lower rack in the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the pineapple slices and 2 tablespoons sugar and sauté until the pineapple is tender and translucent. With a slotted spoon, gently transfer the pineapple to a bowl to cool, leaving the juice behind. Cook the juice down into a thick syrup to glaze the tart with—there should be about 3 tablespoons.

Put the round of galette dough on the paper-lined baking sheet. Spread the frangipane evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1½-inch border uncovered at the edge. Arrange the cooked pineapple in one layer on top of the frangipane. While rotating the tart, fold the border of exposed dough up and over itself at regular intervals, crimping and pushing it up against the outer circle of fruit, creating a containing rim that resembles a length of rope. Pinch off any excess dough. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and brush it on the edge of the tart. Sprinkle the edge with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake the tart in the lower third of the oven, preferably on a pizza stone, for about 45 minutes, rotating about halfway through for even cooking. The crust should be brown and caramelized when done. Slide the tart off the pan and paper onto a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm, with lightly whipped cream or ice cream flavored with vanilla, rum, or kirsch.

Makes one 13-inch tart; serves 8.