What’s in a name?

The various historical and botanical names for pineapple provide some great insight into the origins, attributes and popular myths surrounding pineapples.

• Botanical name: Ananas comosus (Bromeliaceae), a member of the Bromelia family. Bromelian is an active digestive enzyme.
   
• “Anana” – the name used in most European countries is derived from the language of the Guarani Indians of Paraguay. “A” signified any fruit and “nana” meant excellent.
   
• “Pine de Indies” – the Spanish name for pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. It is thought that some of the attributes of the pine cone, which symbolizes fertility, were transferred to the pineapple and have been adopted by popular pineapple culture

• “Pineapple” – the English were responsible for this name when it was introduced in the 17th century. They used the Spanish “pina” as it looked like a pine cone and added “apple” to associate it with juicy fruits.

So there you have it; an excellent, juicy fruit with superb digestive properties and a symbol of fertility!