Best pineapple recipes: Queenslanders urged to tuck into sweet fruit as glut looms
Perfect conditions and a bumper crop means pineapples are about to get very cheap in Queensland. Here’s why and how you can make something special from the sweet, juicy fruit.
QLD Taste
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Tonnes of pineapples are at risk of being thrown away amid a glut of the tasty Queensland-grown fruit – with consumers urged to buy up the bumper crop so the produce doesn’t go to waste.
A massive 70 per cent of the crop that was meant to be harvested between January and October will now be picked and put on shop shelves over just a couple of months, with prices set to fall.
The huge jump in supply follows what Pinata Farms’ Rebecca Scurr described as “unprecedented” weather conditions last May, when there was only rain and cloudy skies for almost the entire month.
“Pineapples are pretty resistant, but they don’t like being too wet and they also love the sun because they’re a tropical fruit,” she said.
“They didn’t see the sun for basically a month and they also got too wet.
“So it caused all of the plants across the industry to be very stressed – meaning that around 70 per cent of the plants in the industry from Yeppoon south … all flowered at the same time.”
Queenslanders are being urged to support growers in the Sunshine State by adding pineapples to their shopping lists over the coming weeks as supply of the fruit begins to surge.
The glut is expected to kick off very soon and last through to the middle of March.
Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said it would be a “terrible shame” if the efforts of Queensland farmers went to waste.
“Eating produce like delicious pineapples is part of Queensland’s great lifestyle that you can enjoy guilt-free every day,” he said.
“I’m calling on every Queenslander to add Queensland pineapples to their shopping list, whether it’s at the supermarket, the farmers market or your local fruit and vegetable shop.”
The fruit is expected to be smaller than it normally would be because of how prematurely the plants flowered.
Ms Scurr suggested the produce would be about the half the size of an average pineapple, making them “mini pines” or “baby pines”.
“It’s a pretty devastating times for growers in general to be honest because … a lot of that fruit is actually too small to even be harvested,” she said.
“What customers should expect is a lot of pineapples and a lot of small pineapples.
“There will be more on the shelves and there will be bigger displays of much smaller sizes of fruit.”
The spike in supply and the smaller sizes will mean prices will likely drop, but there will only be about 30 per cent of normal volume of the fruit from about mid-March onwards once the glut is over.
“What we need customers to do then is know that the prices will definitely go up, but it’s not that growers are price gouging or its inflation or anything like that,” Ms Scurr said.
On Friday next week, Growcom will hold a major event in Brisbane city at Queens Park from 6am where the produce will be promoted to CBD workers and visitors.
Growcom chief executive Rachel Chambers called on Queenslanders to buy a pineapple if they had not done so lately.
“They’re sweet, juicy, and serve a double purpose as they can be used as decor in your home,” she said.
“Need a boost in the new year? Place a pair of sunnies on a Queensland pineapple and pop it in your kitchen. Instant mood lifter.”
Nuccio Camuglia – who owns Fruity Capers and Deli at Toowong – said smaller pineapples would be cheaper, but the bigger fruit would remain the same price as it was before and after Christmas.
“There’s nothing wrong with the fruit – it’s just a little bit smaller,” he said.
“Sometimes some people prefer smaller fruit.”
Mr Camuglia said there was also currently a lot of stone fruit available, while cherry numbers had also grown from the levels they were at before Christmas.
Brisbane girl Donya Mohseni, 8, said pineapples were “delicious”.
Her mum, Sodabeh Abazari, said they “love” the fruit, and they use it on pizzas and in pies.
FOUR WAYS TO MAKE PINEAPPLE FUN
All recipes provided by taste.com.au
PINEAPPLE CURD CAKE
30 min prep, 30 min cook
8 servings
INGREDIENTS
● 125g unsalted butter
● 220g (1 cup) caster sugar
● 4 eggs
● 300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
● 250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
● 300ml double cream, whipped
● Baby mint or basil leaves
PINEAPPLE CURD
● 700g pineapple, trimmed, cored, pureed, strained (about 1/2 cup juice)
● 1 tbsp cornflour
● 70g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
● 3 egg yolks
● 100g chilled unsalted butter
BUTTERCREAM ICING
● 80g unsalted butter
● 150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar
● 2 tsp milk
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease and line the base of two 20cm (base measurement) cake pans. Use electric beaters to beat butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in flour and coconut milk in alternating batches until combined. Divide between pans. Smooth the surface. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in pans.
2. Meanwhile, for the curd, whisk juice, cornflour, sugar, yolks and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cook, stirring, for 8-10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside to cool. Place in the fridge until set.
3. For buttercream icing, use electric beaters to beat butter until very pale. Gradually add icing sugar. Beat until creamy. Beat in milk.
4. Use a serrated knife to cut each cooled cake in half horizontally. Place one piece of cake, cut-side up, on a platter. Reserve 60ml (1/4 cup) of the curd. Fold remaining curd through whipped cream. Spread cake with one-third of the curd mixture. Top with another piece of cake, then half the remaining curd mixture. Repeat with another piece of cake and the remaining curd mixture. Top with the remaining cake. Spread buttercream icing over top of cake. Drizzle with the reserved curd. Sprinkle with baby herbs.
THE HAWAIINEAPPLE COB LOAF
20 min prep, 20 min cook
10 servings
INGREDIENTS
● 1 tbsp olive oil
● 4 green shallots, thinly sliced, plus extra to garnish
● 1 garlic clove, crushed
● 250g cream cheese, chopped,
● 250g tub sour cream
● 125g corn kernels, drained
● 100g sliced ham, chopped
● 150g (1 and 1/2 cups) pizza cheese
● 1 cob loaf
● 1 small pineapple with top
● Cheddar cheese cubes
● Sicilian olives, pitted
● Breadsticks to serve
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Line baking tray.
2. Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until shallot is soft. Remove from heat.
3. Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and mash with a fork. Stir in the sour cream until almost smooth. Add the corn, shallot mixture, 75g of the ham and 1 cup of the cheese. Fold until combined.
4. Use a serrated knife to slice 4cm off the top of the cob. Scoop out the bread from the centre of the loaf, leaving a 2cm-thick shell. Chop the bread centre and lid into 3cm pieces. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the bread shell. Top with remaining cheese. Place on tray and arrange bread pieces around the loaf. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bread is golden.
5. Meanwhile, trim top from pineapple and reserve. Cut off pineapple skin. Finely chop enough flesh to fill 3/4 cup, and cut remaining flesh into large chunks. Thread large pineapple chunks, cheese cubes and olives onto skewers.
6. Insert pineapple top and skewers into dip. Top dip with chopped pineapple, remaining ham and extra shallot. Serve with breadsticks and croutons for dipping.
CHUNKY PINEAPPLE AND MINT SALSA
4 servings
INGREDIENTS
● 1 (1.25kg) pineapple, peeled, in 2cm pieces
● 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
● 1 long red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
● 1 small red capsicum, cut into 1cm cubes
● 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
● 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
● 2 tbsp lime juice
● 2 tsp olive oil
● 1/2 tsp caster sugar
METHOD
1. Place pineapple, onion, chilli, capsicum, coriander and mint in a large bowl.
2. Place lime juice, olive oil and sugar in a screw-top jar. Season with salt and pepper. Secure lid. Shake to combine. Pour over pineapple mixture. Toss to combine. Serve.
PINEAPPLE MOJITO
10 min prep
8 servings
INGREDIENTS
● 2 large limes, cut into wedges
● 2-3 tsp caster sugar, to taste
● 8 mint sprigs
● 1L (4 cups) soda water, chilled
● 500ml (2 cups) fresh pineapple juice, chilled
● 310ml (1 and 1/4 cups) white rum
● Fresh pineapple slices, to serve
● Mint ice-cubes, to serve (see tip)
METHOD
1.Squeeze lime wedges into a large punch bowl or serving jug. Add squeezed wedges, sugar and mint to the bowl. Use back of a wooden spoon to muddle. Top with soda water, juice and rum. Stir to combine. Add pineapple and mint ice-cubes before serving.
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