Attention H.E.B. shoppers

I went to HEB To get my BBQ supplies and noticed this lady in the fruit/veggie section. She was coring pineapples and I noticed a huge trashcan full of peel, cores and tops next to her worktable. I asked her for 2 tops from her trash and she gladly shared. I have read you can pot the tops and grow your own pineapple.

Next time you go to your HEB you might want to look for the "pineapple lady" and get some freebie tops to do your own growing. She told me HEB hires her to come Sat & Sun only, their busiest days. Maybe your store has a pineapple lady, too.

Vossner,

GREAT TIPS!!! We wanted one of those cored fresh pineapples and our pineapple lady didn't show (it was Saturday too) so we bought one and DH cut it himself. NOT as much work as you might expect and the amount they waste at the store in coring it you lost at least 25% of the fruit!!!

We bought it at HEB, $3.99 each.
Sam's Club has them (and cored for free as well) at $2.99 each.

It's true you can put the tops into dirt and it will sprout. I don't know the details for sure but have heard you can only get 1 pineapple per year per plant. Be interesting to know how long it takes to get some fruit off of it? Keep in mind, they are not cold hardy in the least.

I started reading and it can take up to 2 years. I'm in no hurry. While I let the tops heal up, I will have to decide whether I want to grow in pot or inground. I think they would be hardy for me.

Oh yes, I should have looked at your zone! You will do well!

My DH's grandmother used to grow her pineapple plants from the tops, she never got any fruits but not sure her zone, it was Freeport, TX. DH says the plants were always very pretty anyway though.

Isn't fresh pineapple the best?!?!?!

YES!!!!!!

Now I did have an unusual phenomena happen yesterday in eating a small bowl of fresh pineapple pieces. When done my mouth had a weird tingly feeling....like you had just burned your tongue on a hot product??? I'll have to try some more see if it was caused from that. But I still wouldn't give it up. So sweet and juicy fresh!

if you bite into a piece of the "core" thingy in the center, it will make your tongue feel funny. It could also be more acidity than the inside of your mouth tolerates.

This message was edited May 28, 2006 4:47 PM

THAT MUST BE IT!!!

My DH said the core part is good to chew on just for the flavor then spit out. I had about 3 of those. I will try some again and nix that part. =) THANKS!

You could be slightly allergic to fresh pineapple, I am, and when I eat it I get a tingly feeling all over my scalp, like something is crawling on it, so I try to avoid fresh pineapple, but I love the taste.
I can eat canned pinapple with no problem, it is the fresh that I am allergic to, I guess cooking destrois some of the enzimes.

I think it must be the core we left on the pieces. I've had fresh (starting just this year) in several fruit salads from like Walmart/HEB and had no problems. So it was either eating way more quantity of fresh or the core. I tried to eat around the few core pieces and the verdict is in. I have less tingling but still touched the core a tad. I will omit this in cutting it up next time and be 100% sure. Frostweed....glad you pointed out some people can be allergic! I'd never have guessed.

same thing happens to me if I eat to many acidic tomatos--plus turn red.

Bromelin, a proteolytic, is found in pineapples and other members of the Bromeliaceae family. It is probably responsible for the tingly feeling on your tongue. Some people are more sensitive to its effect than others. I get that tingly feeling on my tongue if I pig out on fresh pineapple. Josephine, Bromelin is destroyed by heat explaining why you can eat the canned pineapple. Bromelin is used commercially as a natural tenderizing agent.

Betty,

You are so smart! Thanks for the lesson! Would you also agree this acid is more in the core?

Pineapples are acidic, but it's not the acid that causes the problem. Unless, of course, large quantities of pineapple are eaten. It's the Bromelin that causes the problem because it breaks up protein. That's why it is used as a tenderizer.

I don't think there is more enzyme in the core. I think it has more to do with the quantity eaten. I like chewing on the core and never core my pineapple, but I do have to be careful of the quantity I eat.

Please do not ask for anything like this at a HEB store Sorry, but it's strictly against HEB policy. I just wouldn't want any of these ladies who do that to lose their job. It's well known by the people who compost (and would like to take discarded produce remains home) that they have this ill-advised policy and are pretty extreme about enforcing it. Just FYI.

HEB would rather waste scraps than give to avid gardeners and folks that can turn trash into treasure? Is that a company policy? Wow, I thought they were an earth friendly company. I'll send my business elsewhere.

You probably won't find any corporate groceries giving away any rotten food--even corn husks! The possibility for shoplifting becomes too great. Unscrupulous people could easily tell the teenage checker that "the produce guy said I could have these" , when "these" are actually fresh items.

...the things we gardeners will try to plant! lol I have a problem with fresh pineapple too, I have to make sure the juice does not get on my face or I develop Perioral Dermititus. ...my face itch for days ... have to do the Tetracyclene thing. lol

The bottoms of my pineapples healed, I dusted with rooting hormone and I removed a few of the lower leaves. These babies were potted today.

Oh Sylvia you poor thing.
I have no problem w/ pinapple but when I eat dried fruit I get a funny feeling in my throat and I know it's one chem or another but I love dried apricots so just try to ignore it; hopefully my throat will not close up while eating them. LOL.

I would like to try growing a pineapple anyway. :)

I love pineapple juice....my favorite.

Dried pineapple is excellent! How's that for a stretch from planting pineapple?

We are good at twisting threads in Texas.

I dunno why some people get so upset about the twist and turns in these threads. I mean, when you are talking to you buddies in person, doesn't your conversation go in a million different directions?

HEB, pineapple allergies, planting pineapples, dried pineapples, it all ties to me. Now if start talking about housecleaning or pantyhose, that might too much digression, but even then, I certainly have been known to do that with my friends, haven't y'all????

Ewww... housecleaning and pantyhose... Two of my least favorite things! Let's stick to pineapple! LOL

My sweetheart put a pineapple top in the ground last summer, and it survived Katrina and a couple of really cold spells. Looked dead, but he's a big believer in benign neglect, and it's green and growing. There is nothing more delicious than a perfectly ripe fresh pineapple! My mouth stings for a long time after I've eaten it -- but it's worth it! I don't like dried; it's too sweet.

Vossner,

You said it best! Seems the issue of "hyjacking" came up recently somewhere on DG...I'd never even heard of it??? Guilty I guess among friends I am. =)

Brig,

brigid, I read that it takes 15-18 months to produce fruit. you're on your way

Bought a pineapple from HEB few weeks ago, grown in Puerto Rico. It was so sweet.

Bought another from HEB, from Hawaii. Not as sweet.

I was wondering if this is due to the area or was it just "luck"? I was thinking if grown in Hawaii, being a main crop, maybe they use lots of chemicals on theirs?

can't say for sure. could be the soil, chemicals used (or not used) or something as simple as having been harvested before its prime.

Vossner, about 3 years ago I potted a top from a fresh pineapple. Last fall during Rita we harvested our first pineapple from the plant. It put on pups which grew out but because I was waiting on the pinepple to ripen I wasn't able to repot those. Well, a few weeks after Rita I was getting ready to split it up and repot but there was a bloom. This is the plant today (that bloom is now another pineapple). Believe me it is worth the wait and worth the dragging in of the pot during winter. It looks like a couple of more months before it will be ready to eat. You can see how crowded the pot is. I think I see another flower stem coming up. Guess this pineapple doesn't want to be split into several plants.
I have only found a few brands of pineapple which are always sweet. Del Monte, Dole, or another that says gold, it might be Puerto Rico Gold. Those are always good. Of course it helps to get one that is turning gold and has a good smell. I've never gotten a good one from Walmart. I agree that many producers pick them before they are ready. Jenny

Jenny you give me hope!!! YES!!! Congrats on your great plant! I see we are close in zones so I think I might could manage dragging it in for a winter. Is it okay to let it be dormant in an insulated garage?

I think that Puerto Rico gold is what I must have had. It was Del Monte from Hawaii this last time...barely sweet.

Bought one from Walmart few weeks ago...it was ripe alright according to the test of tugging on a leaf but cutting it up revealed it was ALL BRUISED! Ohhhh.

Jenny, way cool! did all those pups come from ONE pineapple top? that would be amazing. I have my two potted in separate pots, shaded by large bananas. they are not dead, so I'd say so far, so good.

thanks for sharing your experience. I look forward to sharing an equally satisfying experience.

Vossner, all of the plants in the pot were from the one top. Since then I have tried to root another but haven't had much luck. I do have another rooting and hope it will take (had it in the pot for about a month). They are very slow for the first year. Mine did nothing until I accidentally got it with the weed eater. That is why some of the leaves look so tattered. I guess it thought it was going to be thrown out and then it all of a sudden bloomed. It was just a nice big plant then it bloomed and put on a bunch of pups. Now they are as big as the original plant.

Tir na nog, I never use the leaf test. Usually that is a very ripe one. I look at the color (golden and no bruised places) and smell the bottom. You should smell the sweet pineapple smell. Probably the Del Monte pineapple you got wasn't quite ripe. Next time let it sit on the kitchen counter until it is golden. Don't put in the refrigerator until after you cut it up. Jenny

Thanks for the tips Jenny. Yep, we did the leaf test...came out quickly so it's ripe. I'll smell it next time.