KAU

PINEAPPLE RESEARCH STATION (KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY), VAZHAKULAM, MUVATTUPUZHA

Processing, Value Addition & Uses

The popular recipes prepared using pineapple in this area are juice, squash, halva, jam, candy, pickles, chutney and vine.The ‘Pineapple fruit’ is processed into a range of refreshing food products. Recognizing the vast potential of Kerala’s finest farms, a project ‘Kerala Horticulture Development Programme (KHDP)’ was promoted jointly by the European Union and Government of Kerala. A fruit processing unit was established under this project at Nadukkara, near Vazhakulam. The delicious fruits of Kerala are transformed into a wide range of products with brand identity ‘JIVE’.

Pineapple in syrup

Processing

Reception and weighing of pineapples. Select the raw material and remove damaged parts. Remove the stem. Wash the pineapples in drinking water.

Peel the pineapples and remove the inedible parts. Cut the pineapples as required. They may be cut into slices (rings), chunks, and tidbit or may be crushed.

Heat the pineapple pieces in the pot, as illustrated. Fill the jars with the pieces while they are still warm, up to approximately two thirds of their capacity.

The hot syrup is added to the fruit, which has been arranged in the jars. Make sure that the jars are filled to the brim. Let the jars settle for 5 minutes to allow them and the fruit to warm up. Seal the jars hermetically. Sterilize the jars in boiling water for 20 minutes after placing them in bags to prevent them from knocking against each other and breaking when the water begins to boil. Cool the jars with running water. Dry, seal with adhesive tape, label and store.

Pineapple juice

Procedure:

Remove peel from 1 large pineapple, grind, put into kettle with water to barely cover and boil rapidly 10 minutes.

Strain juice through cheesecloth bag. Pour juice into clean jars to within 1/2 inch of top of jar. Put on cap, screwing the band tight.

Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Packing may be plastic bottles or bags, coated cans, multilaminate (plastic, paper, metal foil) or any newer materials.

The pH values of the product must be controlled so it remains agreeable for human consumption. It is a common practice to blend batches of juices to attain proper acidity and sensory qualities.

Pineapple fruit jam

Raw material:

Pineapples: 6 kg (peeled)
Sugar: 3 kg
Lemon juice: 50 ml

Processing:

Remove the unripe fruit and those affected by blemishes or signs of decay. Wash in abundant water and let drip. Remove the skin, according to the fruit being processed. Cut the fruit in halves or quarters, according to its size, and place in a pot.

Cook on low heat and stir frequently with a wooden spoon to prevent the product from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cook on a higher flame for 15 more minutes and stir frequently with the wooden spoon.

Add 1 kg of sugar and dissolve rapidly. Let cook for 30 minutes. Add 50 ml of lemon juice. Add the remaining 2 kg of sugar, dissolve rapidly and boil for 15-20 minutes. When the product has become thicker and has reached the setting point, remove from the fire.

Fill the previously washed and dried glass jars with the hot jam up to 1.5 cm from the rim. Clean the upper part of the jars from possible jam residues. Close with screw-band lids. Turn the lid-bearing jars upside down, to sterilize the lids until the content cools off. Remove all jam residues from the outside of the jars and lids. Label each container, indicating the name of the product, the ingredients and date on which the product was prepared. Place a strip of adhesive paper over jar and lid, so as to be able to check whether the container was previously opened, before consuming the contents. Store in a dry place, free from dust and away from light. The product may be preserved for at least 12 months. Since less sugar than normal is used to make an extra-quality jam, once the jar is opened the product must be stored in the refrigerator.

Pineapple Dried

Processing:

Pineapple has been known to be excellent for drying. In this product, most of the free water of the fruit is eliminated. To prepare, select fully ripe, fresh pineapple. Remove skin and eyes from pineapple with a sharp knife. Usually, chunks or slices are prepared for better presentation and make handling easier. Final moisture is near 5%, and this allows the dried fruit to have a long shelf life as long as proper packing is provided and storage is done in a fresh place.

Pretreatments prevent fruits from darkening during long-term storage

Sulfuring:

In this method, sublimed sulfur is ignited and burned in an enclosed box with the fruit. The sulfur fumes penetrate the fruit and act as a pretreatment by retarding spoilage and darkening of the fruit. The sulfur fumes also reduce the loss of vitamins A and C.

Sulfite dip:

Sulfite dips can achieve the same long-term anti-darkening effect as sulfuring, but more quickly and easily. Either sodium bisufite or sodium meta-bisulfite that are USP (food grade) or Reagent grade (pure) can be used.

Directions: Dissolve ¾ to 1 ½ teaspoons sodium bisufite per quart of water. (If using sodium sulfite, use 1 ½ to 3 teaspoons. If using sodium meta-bisulfite, use 1 to 2 tablespoons.) Place the prepared fruit in the mixture and soak 5 minutes for slices, 15 minutes for halves. Remove fruits, rinse lightly under cold water and place on drying trays for drying.

Ascorbic Acid:

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) mixed with water is a safe way to prevent fruit browning. However, its protection does not last as sulfuring or sulfiting.

Directions: Mix 3000 mg ascorbic acid tablets, crushed in 2 cups of water. Place the fruit in the solution for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove fruit, drain well and place on dryer trays. After this solution is used twice, add more ascorbic acid.

Fruit juice dip:

A fruit juice that is high in vitamin C can also be used as a pretreatment, though it is not as effective as pure ascorbic acid. Juices high in vitamin C include orange, lemon, pineapple, and grape. Each juice adds its own color and flavor to the fruit.

Directions: Place enough juice to cover the fruit in a bowl. Add sliced fruit. Soak 3 to 5 minutes, remove fruit, drain well and place on dryer trays. This solution may be used twice, before being replaced.

Honey dip:

Honey dipped fruit is much higher in calories.

Directions: Mix ½ cup sugar with 1 ½ cups boiling water. Cool to lukewarm and add ½ cup honey. Place fruit in dip and soak 3 to 5 minutes. Remove fruit, drain well and place on dryer trays.

Preparing and Using Sugar Syrups

Adding syrup to canned fruit helps to retain its flavor, color, and shape. It does not prevent spoilage of these foods. The following guidelines for preparing and using syrups offer new "very light" syrup, which approximates the natural sugar content of many fruits. The sugar content in each of the five syrups is increased by about 10 percent. Quantities of water and sugar to make enough syrup for a canner load of pints or quarts are provided for each syrup type.

Syrup Type	Approx. % Sugar	Measures of Water and Sugar				Fruits commonly packed in syrup**
		For 5 liter Load*		For 8 liter Load
		Cups Water	Cups Sugar	Cups Water	Cups Sugar
Very Light	10	6 ½	¾	10 ½	1 ¼	Approximates natural sugar level in most fruits and adds the fewest calories.
Light	20	5 ¾	1 ½	9	2 ¼	Very sweet fruit.
Medium	30	5 ¼	2 ¼	8 ¼	3 ¾	Moderately sweet fruits.
Heavy	40	5	3 ¼	7 ¾	5 ¼	Sour fruit.
Very Heavy	50	4 ¼	4 ¼	6 ½	6 ¾	Very sour fruit.

*This amount is also adequate for a 4.5-liter load.

**Many fruits that are typically packed in heavy syrup are excellent and tasteful products when packed in lighter syrups. It is recommended that lighter syrups be tried, since they contain fewer calories from added sugar.

Uses of Pineapple

Food Uses

Field ripe fruits are best for eating fresh, and it is only necessary to remove the crown, rind, eyes and core. In India, flesh of larger fruits is cut up in various ways and eaten fresh, as dessert, in salads, compotes and otherwise, or cooked in pies, cakes, puddings, or as a garnish on ham, or made into sauces or preserves. In Panama, very small pineapples are cut from the plant with a few inches of stem to serve as a handle, the rind is removed except at the base, and the flesh is eaten out-of-hand like corn on the cob. Malayans utilize the pineapple in curries and various meat dishes. In the Philippines, the fermented pulp is made into a popular sweetmeat called nata de pina. The pineapple does not lend itself well to freezing, as it tends to develop off flavors.

Canned pineapple is consumed throughout the world. The highest grade is the skinned, cored fruit sliced crosswise and packed in syrup. Undersize or overripe fruits are cut into "spears", chunks or cubes. Surplus pineapple juice used to be discarded after extraction of bromelain. Today there is a growing demand for it as a beverage. Crushed pineapple, juice, nectar, concentrate, marmalade and other preserves are commercially prepared from the flesh remaining attached to the skin after the cutting and trimming of the central cylinder. All residual parts cores, skin and fruit ends are crushed and given a first pressing for juice to be canned as such or prepared as syrup used to fill the cans of fruit, or is utilized in confectionery and beverages, or converted into powdered pineapple extract which has various roles in the food industry. Chlorophyll from the skin and ends imparts a greenish hue that must be eliminated and the juice must be used within 20 hours as it deteriorates quickly. A second pressing yields "skin juice" which can be made into vinegar or mixed with molasses for fermentation and distillation of alcohol.

In Africa, young, tender shoots are eaten in salads. The terminal bud or "cabbage" and the inflorescences are eaten raw or cooked. Young shoots, called "hijos de pina" are sold on vegetable markets in Guatemala.

Toxicity

When unripe, the pineapple is not only inedible but also poisonous, irritating the throat and acting as a drastic purgative. Excessive consumption of pineapple cores has caused the formation of fiber balls (bezoars) in the digestive tract.

Other Uses

Bromelain: The proteolytic enzyme, bromelain, or bromelin, was formerly derived from pineapple juice; now it is gained from the mature plant stems salvaged when fields are being cleared. The yield from 368 lbs (167 kg) of stern juice is 8 lbs (3.6 kg) of bromelain. The enzyme is used like papain from papaya for tenderizing meat and chill proofing beer; is added to gelatin to increase its solubility for drinking; has been used for stabilizing latex paints and in the leather-tanning process. In modern therapy, it is employed as a digestive and for its anti-inflammatory action after surgery, and to reduce swellings in cases of physical injuries; also in the treatment of various other complaints.

Fiber: Pineapple leaves yield a strong, white, silky fiber which was extracted by Filipinos before 1591. Certain cultivars are grown especially for fiber production and their young fruits are removed to give the plant maximum vitality. The 'Perolera' is an ideal cultivar for fiber extraction because its leaves are long, wide and rigid. In India the thread is prized by shoemakers and it was formerly used in the Celebes. Chinese people in Kwantgung Province and on the island of Hainan weave the fiber into coarse textiles resembling grass cloth. It was long ago used for thread in Malacca and Borneo. In West Africa it has been used for stringing jewels and also made into capes and caps worn by tribal chiefs. The people of Guam hand-twist the fiber for making fine casting nets. They also employ the fiber for wrapping or sewing cigars. Pina cloth made on the island of Panay in the Philippines and in Taiwan is highly esteemed. In Taiwan they also make a coarse cloth for farmers' underwear. The outer, long leaves are preferred. In the manual process, they are first decorticated by beating and rasping and stripping, and then left to ret in water to which chemicals may be added to accelerate the activity of the microorganisms which digest the unwanted tissue and separate the fibers. Retting time has been reduced from 5 days to 26 hours. The rested material is washed clean, dried in the sun and combed. In mechanical processing, the same machine can be used that extracts the fiber from sisal. Estimating 10 leaves to the lb (22 per kg), 22,000 leaves would constitute one ton and would yield 50-60 lbs (22-27 kg) of fiber.

Juice: Pineapple juice has been employed for cleaning machete and knife blades and, with sand, for scrubbing boat decks.

Animal Feed: Pineapple crowns are sometimes fed to horses if not needed for planting. Final pineapple waste from the processing factories may be dehydrated as "bran" and fed to cattle, pigs and chickens. "Bran'' is also made from the stumps after bromelain extraction. Expendable plants from old fields can be processed as silage for maintaining cattle when other feed is scarce. The silage is low in protein and high in fiber and is best mixed with urea, molasses and water to improve its nutritional value.

Folk Medicine: Pineapple juice is taken as a diuretic and to expedite labor, also as a gargle in cases of sore throat and as an antidote for seasickness. The flesh of very young (toxic) fruits is deliberately ingested to achieve abortion (a little with honey on 3 successive mornings); also to expel intestinal worms; and as a drastic treatment for venereal diseases. Indians in Panama use the leaf juice as a purgative, emmenagogue and vermifuge. In Africa the dried, powdered root is a remedy for edema. The crushed rind is applied on fractures and the rind decoction with rosemary is applied on hemorrhoids.

Ornamental Value

The pineapple fruit with crown intact is often used as a decoration and there are variegated forms of the plant universally grown for their showiness indoors or out

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Quality People, Infrastructure & Work Culture for Quality Technology, Products & Services. Merit alone counts for quality suitable for the purpose. One has know-how only when it is proven in real life.Copyright © 2010 Pineapple Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University. Best viewed in IE 5.5 or above, 1024x768 screen, scripts enabled. Last modified: 23 Jun 2014. Webmaster: Dr. P. P. Joy, Associate Professor & Head, Pineapple Research Station (Kerala Agricultural University), Vazhakulam, Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam District, Kerala, India, PIN-686 670, Tel. & Fax: +91 485 2260832, Cell: +919446010905, E-mail: prsvkm@kau.in. Constructive comments, suggestions and criticisms are most welcome and please mail to prsvkm@gmail.com.