Pineapple Brooch MB x EH LMTD EDITION

By Edible History

The pineapple hails from South America. Specifically, an area that covers modern day southern Brazil and northern Paraguay. It was voraciously consumed by the people indigenous to these regions, and the plant spread through South America, into Central America and parts of the Caribbean. People like the Nambikwara, who are from the Rondônia state in southern Brazil, used the pineapple to make juices and a very strong fermented drink called nanaî, from their name for the fruit, naná (which is where the French word for pineapple, ananas, derives). These pineapples would have been much smaller than the steroid-pumped Doles we know today. They were cultivated and farmed –  but they also grew wild in fields. 

Then in 1493, on his second voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus encountered the pineapple on the island of Guadeloupe – and the fate of the fruit was forever changed. He called it the “Pine of the Indies,” cause, well, I suppose it does look somewhat like a pinecone – but also because Columbus was still very much convinced he was in some Western part of India, hence the “West Indies.” 

The journey the pineapple would take from the Americas, by European hands, was vast; a multilane ocean highway shooting out in nearly every direction imaginable. In the 16th century, the world’s introduction to the pineapple was largely facilitated by the Spanish and the Portuguese – the O.G. European colonizers. Of course, not to be outdone by the Dutch, and then the English, who took the imperial helm in the later 17th and 18th centuries. 

In warm Asian and African climates, the pineapple thrived, and the fruit was readily adopted into local diets wherever it was introduced. In Europe, however, particularly as the continent faced its Little Ice Age during the Medieval period, the pineapple struggled to grow – making it an inherently rare foreign fruit. 

Enthusiastic botanists had to find ways to recreate the hot and humid temperatures the pineapple was used to in its tropical homeland. Hothouses were built, essentially 17th century greenhouses, kept warm by cutting edge period technology like burning manure.

Under gray English skies and stormy Dutch clouds, the gnarly yellow fruits emerged from their pots. Careful cultivation produced a sweet delicacy only the ultra-wealthy could afford. A single pineapple could fetch thousands – roughly equivalent to $8,000 today. Quite the difference from the $3.99 pineapples available at my local supermarket. 

We know that when something is expensive and hard to get a hold of, it makes people want it more. Humans like rare things. They covet them. They go to extraordinary lengths to get them. If an aristocratic English family, desiring a pineapple to serve their esteemed guests, did not have a few thousand pounds lying around to purchase one, they could rent a pineapple for said dinner party as a centerpiece. Not to be consumed of course, and quickly returned intact the next morning.

As a result of the pineapple’s elite status in 17th, 18th and even 19th century Europe, we find the fruit in some rather strange places. Go to London and stand in front of the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral and you will see golden pineapples atop her towers. Travel north to Scotland, to Dunmore House and you will find a giant 18th century pineapple hothouse. Pineapple shaped ceramics became popular, as did pineapple decorations on dresses, shoes, and even pineapple shaped purses. So valuable was the pineapple that in 1807, when an Englishman named John Godding stole seven pineapples from his employer, he was sentenced to seven years of hard labor in Australia. 

Today the pineapple is the one of the most consumed fruits in the world. Think of Mexican al-pastor tacos with little chunks of charred pineapple. Taiwanese Pineapple Cake served with a cup of tea. A 1950s American ham, gracing the Sunday table, adorned in pineapple medallions. Think of Khao Pad Sapparod, a Thai fried rice dish laced with pineapple. Think of the Pina Colada! God, even Hawaiian Pizza. (As a born and raised New Yorker, I cannot condone this monstrosity. Though I will concede, it embodies perhaps one of the most fascinating global food fusion stories out there: pizza from Italy, tomatoes from Mexico, pineapple from Brazil, birthed through Greek-Canadian pizzaiolo hands and now Austrialians’ favorite pizza topping? Apparently even Hawaiian Pizza contains multitudes.) 

This is what I love about food history. Behind every ingredient, every dish, there are countless stories. There are big stories – of empire and global trade. There are tales of consumption – how people define taste, how people experience taste. There are smaller stories – of individuals weaving pineapple fibers together to make a basket in 13th century Brazil, of a 17th century Parisian potter creating a pineapple shaped ceramic bowl, of a 20th century Greek immigrant, newly arrived in Canada – setting his eyes upon a seemingly exotic fruit, mind spinning, ideas whirling, and deciding to put it a top a pizza.

Read the Full Substack Here

Bolo Details

• Original MackBecks x Edible History Design
• Hand-formed, sculpted, and painted acrylic and resin.
• W 1.25” x H 2”
• Lightweight - 2.0 oz.
• Jewelry Box and Artist Postcard Included
• Made in the USA

Hardware Details 

• Double Enforced Surgical Steel Posts and Black Silicone Enclosures.
• Nickel Free and Hypoallergenic

Click here for our Shipping & Return Policies.

* This is a Limited Edition Pre-Order, meaning that all designs will be made-to-order after our Pre-Order window closes(07/27/2024) or when we sell out, whichever comes first.*