No trip to Costa Rica can be complete without visiting a pineapple plantation. Of all the foods in Costa Rica, we were blown away by the amazingly fresh pineapples. The plantation was really pretty- the dark parts behind me are the fields.
Of course we found a soccer field even on the plantation:
Upon entering the plantation, we were given a presentation on how to pick a ripe pineapple- one of the ways is NOT pulling the leaves:
We learned some guidelines on picking a pineapple-
- The color of the outside does not determine the ripeness- green pineapples are perfect- the more yellow, the higher the fermentation of the pineapple
- It should smell fragrant, but not too sweet- too much of a smell means that it has begun the fermentation process
- The sooner you eat the pineapple, the better
- Pineapple does not ripen once picked- if you don't intend to eat it, then put it in the fridge to store better
All of these things were myths to me before. We also learned the importance of selecting organic pineapples, for taste and quality. Organic Costa Rican pineapples can be purchased at Whole Foods!
Eat up!
