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Pineapple Sage: Cultivation, Harvesting, and Uses

Exotic pineapple sage is a fruity spice for summery dishes and drinks. Here you can find out everything about the use, cultivation and harvest of the South American herb.

Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) is a plant from the mint family. The plant, which belongs to the sage family, owes its colloquial name to the scent of its leaves, which is reminiscent of pineapple. However, the herb is not related to the tropical fruit.

As with all types of sage, both the leaves and flowers of pineapple sage can be used for seasoning and cooking. With its bright red flowers, the exotic kitchen herb is also a pretty ornamental plant for the balcony and garden. As a late bloomer, it brings color to your garden well into autumn.

Use: pineapple sage in summer salads

Pineapple sage originally comes from the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala. Today it enjoys worldwide popularity as an exotic culinary herb.

Thanks to its sweet note, pineapple sage is ideal for refining desserts, such as fruit salads or cold dishes.
You can also add an exotic touch to fruity salads with the herb. The bright red flowers are also ideal as an edible decoration.
Pineapple sage goes well with other fresh herbs – mint or lemon balm, for example, are ideal partners: decorate and spice up fresh summer salads with a combination of pineapple sage and mint.
Refine homemade lemonades or iced tea with leaves and flowers of the sage plant.
On cooler days, you can also make tea from the leaves of pineapple sage: Put a few leaves in a tea strainer and let them steep in boiling water for about five minutes. Tea made from pineapple sage tastes a little tarter than the fresh herb.
The leaves can also be used dried for any use.

Grow pineapple sage

Pretty pineapple sage is an uncomplicated and hardy herb. You can cultivate it both in the garden and in a bucket on the balcony. It should be noted that the perennial plant is not winter-proof and has to go inside during the cold season. With good care, you can enjoy a richly branched shrub that can reach a height of up to half a meter.
Location
Pineapple sage prefers a sunny to half-shady and warm location. A wind-protected place along a house wall or in a sunny corner of your balcony is suitable for this.
The mild morning and evening sun is good for your sage. However, the herb should not be exposed to the midday sun.
floor

The exotic herb thrives best in soil rich in nutrients and humus, which may be enriched with a little sand.
The soil around the root ball should not dry out and should be watered regularly. However, the plant does not tolerate waterlogging either. To prevent this, you can provide natural drainage with a generous layer of sand or gravel at the bottom of the planting hole or the bottom of your tub.
If you plant your pineapple sage in a pot, make sure that the water can drain out of the pot through the drainage.
In the growing season from spring to late autumn, your sage plant will be happy about regular fertilizer application. Use homemade compost or organic fertilizer.
hibernate

Pineapple sage is not hardy.
If your pineapple sage is growing in a pot, put it in a cool, unheated spot in the house where the plant gets enough daylight before the first frost. A bright conservatory, a greenhouse or even a stairwell are perfect for this.
In winter you can reduce the watering and stop fertilizing completely. The plant now gathers strength until the next shoot.
Pineapple sage growing in the garden must be cut back completely in winter and its roots well protected from frost. Lay a thick layer of brushwood or leaves around the root ball. In colder regions or in very cold winters, the plant cannot always be overwintered successfully. If you are unsure, plant them in the bucket.

Harvest pineapple sage

Pineapple sage can be harvested all year round. The green leaves taste particularly aromatic before the first flowering period, but can also be harvested later. You should harvest the flowers just before they fade. Use sharp scissors or a knife to cut off both flowers and leaves at the end of the stem.

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Cooking Tips

Cut Pineapple: This Trick Makes it Easy

Slicing pineapples is an art that I’m sure you’ve tried your hand at before. The fruit is delicious, but stripping it of its skin and woody interior can be exhausting. It’s very easy with this guide.

1. Cut the top and bottom of the pineapple

There are many different ways to cut pineapples. However, a lot of pulp is often lost if you cut off too much at the edge or at the stalk. With our instructions you will get the most out of your pineapple and it is also quick and easy!

That’s how it’s done:
First cut off the crown of the pineapple. Be careful not to cut off too much, cutting two finger widths from the roots is sufficient.
Do the same for the end of the pineapple.

2. Halve the pineapple

Then halve your pineapple by cutting the stalk in half as precisely as possible. This will make it easier to remove in the next few steps.

3. Divide the pineapple into four pieces

Then quarter the pineapple, again in the middle of the stalk.

4. Remove wooden stalk

You can now easily and sparingly remove the wooden stalk from the quarters by cutting into the flesh so that the cut piece forms a triangle.

5. Cut the flesh of the pineapple

Now you can remove the flesh from the skin.
To do this, start as close as possible to the peel so as not to waste any fruit pulp.
Now fillet your pineapple. You can also cut this piece in half lengthwise for convenience.

Ready cut pineapple

You have now successfully removed the skin and stalk from the pineapple.
If you want to use them for a juice, smoothie or similar, you’re done now.

Cut pineapple into small pieces

For snacking, you can cut the pineapple into bite-sized pieces.

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Food

Pineapple: The Sweet Superfood Under Review

Prickly leaves, brown-yellow skin, yellow, sweet flesh – for many, the pineapple is the epitome of exotic tropical fruit. In fruit salad, on pizza, as dried fruit or fresh, it has enriched our menu for many years. But what many do not know: their cultivation is problematic.
The pineapple not only tastes good, but due to its valuable ingredients it is said to be particularly healthy, help you lose weight and even fight cancer. But is everything that is said about the pineapple really true? And what about the tropical fruit in terms of sustainability and eco-balance? We have subjected the superfood classic to a close check – and discovered some less pleasant facts.

Interesting facts about the pineapple plant

The herbaceous perennial pineapple plant, Latin name ananas comosus, belongs to the bromeliad family. It was originally native to Central America and the Caribbean – the term “pineapple” was derived from the language of the Guarani Indians. Today, however, the fruit is grown in all tropical regions worldwide.

In the center of the plant is a stake stem that is partially buried in the ground and serves as an anchor. At the top of this stem, a flower stalk with many small individual flowers forms every year. The pineapple ripens from the infructescence (flower stalk) after three to four months. The tropical fruit therefore also consists of many fruits fused together, which is reflected in the structure of the peel. Edible pineapple fruits are sterile and contain no seeds, the plants propagate via side shoots.

The pineapple has very few and small roots, it gets water and nutrients from the rainwater. This allows it to grow on almost any substrate, but when cultivated in plantations it is heavily fertilized so that it produces large fruits. The pineapple is usually harvested unripe and with the inedible, prickly leaf crown; it ripens during transport or storage. Ripe fruits can be recognized by their aromatic smell or by the fact that the skin gives a little when you press them with your finger.

Ingredients and calories of pineapple

The tropical fruit can come up with some valuable ingredients. The first thing to mention is the high vitamin C content, which supports our immune system, especially during the main pineapple season, in winter. There are also minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus. Because the exotic fruit consists of 85 percent water, it is almost fat-free; their calories come from their fructose. However, the sweet taste is only very moderate at 59 kcal per 100 grams.

How healthy is pineapple actually?

The short answer is that pineapples are generally very healthy. The exotic fruit is low in calories, but contains vitamin C and minerals that make it a healthy snack between meals. But the tropical fruit is also ideal for spicing up various sweet and savory dishes.

In addition, the pineapple brings along secondary plant substances and active ingredients such as enzymes that have a positive effect on the metabolism, the psyche and health. For example, the tropical fruit promotes digestion and stimulates the immune system. Even the canned fruits still contain a relatively large amount of these healthy components. This is even more true for pineapple juice, as long as it’s freshly squeezed and not loaded with preservatives.

Things are a bit different with dried fruit. Due to the dehydration, they are very high in sugar and therefore high in calories. How many of the healthy ingredients are lost in the drying process cannot be said exactly. The same applies to pineapple capsules, pineapple extract or powder. Therefore, you should always reach for fresh fruit if you want to do something good for yourself.

The active ingredients of pineapple: enzyme, salicylates and phytosterols

The tropical fruit is said to have many positive effects. She should …

help you lose weight by burning fat,
strengthen the immune system,
help as an anti-cancer agent,
act against inflammation and swelling as well as blood thinning,
be aphrodisiac
and brighten the general mood.
Various active ingredients in the fruit are responsible for this, above all the enzyme bromelain. Bromelain is actually a mixture of several proteases that occur naturally in the human body as digestive enzymes and break down protein. Clinical studies have shown that bromelain is actually effective against swelling and edema, such as after surgery. In addition, a blood-thinning and anti-inflammatory effect of the enzyme could also be proven in studies without any doubt. To date, there have been only promising test-tube experiments or case studies to cure cancer with bromelain. (2012 meta-study) Pineapple also contains salicylates (including the active ingredient in aspirin), which support the enzyme’s anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning effects.

And when it comes to mood lifting, study results also suggest positive things to come from the tropical fruit. Pineapple contains phytosterols such as serotonin and melatonin, which are also found in antidepressants. In addition, pineapple also seems to strengthen the body’s own antioxidants – but further research is needed here as well.

Cut and peel pineapple properly

The tropical fruit has its pitfalls: the prickly leaves and the rough skin and the “core” act as a deterrent at first. But instead of reaching for the canned pineapple right away, try our instructions on how to peel and cut pineapple correctly.

First you cut off the crown of the leaf and the bottom of the fruit from the ripe pineapple. Then you stand the fruit upright on a work surface and cut off the skin from top to bottom all around. You should also remove the deeper, hard “eyes”. Now you can either slice the fruit lengthwise, leaving the stalk in the middle. Or cut through round discs from which you then remove the hard center piece.

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Food

20 Delightful Facts About Pineapples

Fun facts about pineapple are a great opportunity to learn more about tropical plants. Some people think that pineapples grow on palms, but in fact, they grow on the ground. For many, this fruit is associated with summer and exoticism.

We bring to your attention the most interesting facts about pineapple.

  1. The pineapple was first mentioned in the historical work Chronicle of Peru, written in 1553.
  2. Unripe pineapples are pungent. When eaten, they can burn the lips and cause a laxative effect.
  3. The pulp of these fruits is 86% water.
  4. Pineapples are recommended to be eaten in moderation, otherwise, a person can damage the mucous membrane of the mouth.
  5. An interesting fact is that pineapple leaves contain strong fibers, which is why they are used in the textile industry.
  6. People with intestinal problems are advised to refrain from eating pineapples.
  7. Pineapple juice can relieve motion sickness.
  8. Brazil is considered to be the homeland of edible pineapples (see interesting facts about Brazil). It was from here that these fruits began to be exported to different countries of the world.
  9. Pineapples are used to make cosmetic products.
  10. These fruits are harvested by hand today. So far, no single pineapple harvesting technique has proven effective enough.
  11. Did you know that pineapple can also be grown at home? To do this, you just need to plant a tuft of leaves in the ground.
  12. Pineapples were once grown in many Russian greenhouses, as it was very expensive to ship them from tropical countries.
  13. An interesting fact is that, in fact, pineapple is not one, but many small fruits connected.
  14. Pineapple can be seen on the state emblems of Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda.
  15. The high cost of pineapples is explained by the fact that they reach their maturity only after 3 years.
  16. Curiously, ripe pineapples can be yellow, green, and even pink. It all depends on the variety.
  17. Since pineapples are perishable, they should be eaten in 1-2 days, or stored in the refrigerator.
  18. Not so long ago, in Asia, they came up with a device for extracting the pulp of the fruit.
  19. Not only different sweets are made from pineapples, but also wine.
  20. It is a myth that pineapple is a threat to pregnant girls. Scientists have shown that women will have to eat at least 10 fruits in one sitting for them to have a miscarriage.
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