Today is National Pineapple Day. People throughout the UK, and maybe even the world, will be celebrating the exotic, luxury fruit by making their own fruit salads and blending rum and ice to make their own pina colada’s! But there’s now another area in our lives where farmers and the general public never thought they’d see pineapples, and that’s on our sofas, in our conservatories, on our work desks and even printed onto our clothes.
Some people are asking, ‘Whats the deal with all the pineapples?’ while others are just going crazy for the colourful design. The 2017 – 2018 trend of pineapples in the home has taken off! Places like ASDA George, Tesco and IKEA are basically shoving the bright design down our throats when we walk into the ‘Home’ section – but is it here to stay?
After popular home decor designs in the past have proved popular with both adults and children, it’s hard to say whether these jazzy cups and candle holders will be in our homes for much longer. The Nationwide ‘Unicorn’ obsession in 2017 had children (and teens) buying huge inflatable unicorns, whilst bedrooms saw no spare corner of the mythical creature, wrapped around pens, on bedding and on curtains. But trends, as we all know, move very quickly, so has the pineapple had its day?
Many people that have looked into this popular trend have discovered that it comes from the value behind the fruit. Pineapple came from the undiscovered Caribbean Islands by explorers and only the wealthy and rich could afford to eat them. Their colours, flavours and especially what they looked like, were something us Europeans had never seen before and the closest we got was the pine cone (which is where the name came from!) so having them in our home, flaunts wealth and culture.
To be honest, there couldn’t be a better trend for spring/summer, the fruit basically screams health and vibrant colours and looks great anywhere indoors. If you fancy brightening up your home with this exciting home decor ASDA, George, has around 49 different pineapple products! So not one room of your house will go without this summer ’18.
Sainsburys Tu clothing range is also very impressive when it comes to the latest trends, shop here.
Read on about how you can celebrate National Pineapple Day and the history of the fruit!
Some history on the pineapple
Pineapples are thought to have originated in Brasil and South America. They were first discovered by Europeans in 1493 in the Caribbean Islands. The Europeans called the fruit pineapples because of their visibly similar appearance to the pine cone. Pineapples arrived in the Caribbean after centuries of Indian migration and commerce.
When Christopher Columbus and other discoverers brought pineapples back to Europe, attempts were made to cultivate the sweet fruit until it was realised that the fruits need a tropical climate in order to flourish outside of the tropics, otherwise they just wouldn’t grow.
By the end of the 16th century, Portuguese and Spanish explorers introduced pineapples into many of their Asian, African and South Pacific colonies – countries in which pineapples are still grown today, and transported over for us to enjoy.
The pineapple was introduced to Australia in the 1830’s and it now grows predominantly along the coast of Queensland.
How to celebrate
You and your family can celebrate National Pineapple Day by making a tasty exotic fruit salad in a Pineapple boat! Heres a recipe for a pineapple fruit salad you can enjoy and make at home…
1. Take the pineapple and cut it in half.
2. Take one half of the pineapple and cut a line just inside the fruit, right down the middle.
3. Do this to both sides, then do another vertical across the centre. It should look like the picture below.
4. Take out the pineapple chunks and cut them up into smaller squares.
5. Cut up other chunks of your favourite fruit and place them inside the Pineapple boat.
6. There, now you have a healthy, colourful pineapple fruit bowl!
Another way to celebrate National Pineapple Day is by serving up your own homemade pina colada! Here are the ingredients:
- Rum
- 1/2 part coconut cream
- Pineapple Juice
- Fresh Pineapple
Your step by step guide to making the perfect pina colada,
- Fill a shaker (or jug) with ice cubes.
- Add the rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice.
- Shake (or mix) and strain into a chilled glass filled with ice cubes.
- Top up with pineapple juice and garnish with fresh pineapple and enjoy!
Remember to take a picture of your pineapple invention and use the hashtag #PineappleDay on social media!