Pineapple cake: Jeremy Vincent’s recipes for loaf, sweet and sour pork

While fresh is best, tinned produce means you can enjoy some treats all year round, such as this pineapple loaf.

WE ARE spoiled by the canning industry, which ensures that year-round we can dip into all manner of ingredients that are out of season.

While it’s always good to preserve seasonal availability and to stick with fresh ingredients — somehow it makes them more special — I’m regularly drawn to the supermarket shelf for tinned pineapple.

Tinned pineapple in particular adds a summertime feel to dishes, especially when the weather is grey and wintry. I use it in quite a few dishes throughout the year — for a simple homemade sweet and sour pork, and even for this delicious loaf, which makes a great snack food at any time of the day.

Of course, don’t forget fresh pineapple when it’s around — the tropical tang cannot be beaten as a refreshing snack food.

PINEAPPLE LOAF

Pineapple loaf. Picture: DANNIKA BONSER

Serves 10

110g butter, at room temperature

1½ cups sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

440g tin crushed pineapple, undrained

2½ cups plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

Pinch salt

¼ cup water

3 egg whites, beaten until stiff

Cream the butter with the sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the pineapple.

Sift the dry ingredients together, then add to the creamed mixture alternately with the water. Fold in the egg whites.

Pour into a greased and floured loaf tin. Bake at 180C for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

FRESH PINEAPPLE TIPS

ONCE the fresh pineapple is cut from the plant, it will not ripen any further. Without any starch reserves to convert to sugar, it will simply begin to rot and ferment.

The best season in Australia for fresh pineapples is spring to autumn, but you can find them all year round, especially at Asian markets. Fresh, ripe pineapples should have green, fresh-looking leaves in a small, compact crown, and a leaf should be easy to remove if fully ripe.

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Once again, the nose proves to be a powerful tool in determining ripeness.

The fruit should be plump, feel heavy and have a strong sweet, but not fermented, pineapple aroma. Colouring may be green or yellow-gold, depending on the variety. Feel the bottom. It should yield to medium pressure, have no indication of mould, and the eyes should be bright, shiny and flat. Avoid any that are dry or look old and wrinkly. Dark eyes, soft spots and yellowed leaves are all indicators of a pineapple way past its prime.

TINNED PINEAPPLE

Tinned pineapple is available in slices, chunks, crushed and juice. It takes three pineapples to produce one can of sliced rings. The best tinned ingredients come from the sweeter bottom portion of the pineapple. Soaking tinned pineapple in cold water for half an hour will remove some of the tinny flavour.

Tinned pineapple can be stored for up to one year on the shelf in a cool cupboard. Leftover tinned pineapple should be refrigerated in its juice in a covered container and consumed within a week.

SWEET & SPICY PORK WITH PINEAPPLE

IN A bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger, 4 chopped spring onions, a teaspoon crushed red pepper, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup pineapple juice (from a tin, see below), 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons cornflour and ¼ cup water. Set sauce aside.

Sprinkle 500g diced pork with salt. Warm a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and when very hot add the pork and stir-fry until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 red capsicum, seeded and cut into strips, a handful of trimmed snow peas and 225g water chestnuts, drained. Saute for 3 minutes. Stir in 225g tin pineapple pieces. Add the sauce to the frying pan and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve over steamed rice. Sprinkle with roasted unsalted peanuts and spring onion greens and serve immediately. Serves 4.

EASY PINE LIME SORBET

A COUPLE of days before eating, into a blender put 1 large tin of pineapple pieces (liquid reserved), the juice and zest of 1 lime, 1 small piece fresh ginger (peeled and sliced), a handful Thai basil leaves, 75g caster sugar and the reserved pineapple liquid made up to 200ml with water, and blitz until very smooth. Pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight until solid.

A few hours before serving, remove from the freezer and allow to defrost slightly so it slides out of the container in a block. Chop the block into ice cube-sized chunks and blitz in the blender again until you have a thick, slushy puree. Tip back into the container and refreeze for an hour or until it can be scooped out.

To serve, scoop the sorbet into chilled bowls or glasses and top with extra basil. If you want you can drizzle with something a little more potent, such as vodka or white rum. Serves 6. If you wish, use a fresh pineapple which has been peel cored and cut into chunks, and for the liquid, just use 200ml water.