Everything You Didn’t Know You Wanted to Know About Pineapples
What greater tribute to the pineapple is there than a tattoo? Think again. Journalist Lex Boon spent seven years working on a book about the exotic fruit.
Yes, really, an entire book about pineapples! And not some silly little pamphlet, either—no, a 224-page book full of pineapple stories from around the world. From a conversation with the inventor of Hawaiian pizza to a holiday in an eighteenth-century Scottish pineapple castle. Name anything and Lex Boon has a story about it.
Farewell Gift
What drives someone to travel the world for seven years collecting pineapple stories? It began, at any rate, with the pineapple plant he got from his ex just before she left him. He soon became fascinated by the fruit. But maintaining a fascination for seven years is remarkable. Lex: “Well, it wasn’t seven years full-time; sometimes I didn’t do anything for months. But every time, another email or message or story would come along that I wanted to know more about.”
https://twitter.com/lexboon/status/1081187417523187714
Hawaiian Pizza
That’s how he found the name of the man online who claims to have invented Hawaiian pizza: Sam Panopoulos. “He was supposed to live in Canada, so I got out the phone book and started calling, asking: ‘Are you the inventor of Hawaiian pizza?’ Eventually I found him. He’s proud of his invention and doesn’t really care that people don’t consider it a ‘real’ pizza.”
He interviewed Panopoulos by phone, but Lex usually also hit the road in person. “I often combined my interviews and searches with my holidays. My girlfriend sometimes found that annoying, but also fun. Those stories and encounters are infectious. I actually still have a whole list of stories I could pursue, but at some point you have to stop.”
https://twitter.com/lexboon/status/1081187423483248640
Smooth Cayenne
By now, Lex talks with at least as much enthusiasm about the crown prince of fruits. His favorite? “The Smooth Cayenne from Tanzania. It’s an old, exclusive pineapple variety. In the supermarket, you mainly find the sweet MD2. I’m not much of a wine expert, but let’s say that the MD2 is the chardonnay of pineapples: easy, sweet, liked by just about everyone, a bit ordinary. The Smooth Cayenne is richer, fuller and more exclusive. But it also costs €10 per piece. That’s why you won’t find them in the Netherlands; they’re mainly produced for the Russian market. They’re willing to pay that much for them.”
Luxury Product
In that respect, Lex believes there’s still something for the Dutch to learn. “We all think it’s perfectly normal to have pineapples sitting in the supermarket, but it’s an incredibly luxurious product: hand-picked on the other side of the world and brought all the way here. We should take a moment to appreciate that more often.”
Curious about the book? You can buy it here.
https://twitter.com/lexboon/status/1082682457122660353
