When my some Jimmie was a little fellow, he called pineapples “apple pines”. He also called roosters “doodle-o’s” and he referred to fish as “sous”. To this day, I often call fish “sous” and barnyard fowls “doodle-o’s” – and I still refer to pineapples as “apple pines”. Your children’s cute words never go away.
The point of all this is that I have concluded that pineapples are far and away the best buy in the grocery store when it comes to breakfast fruits. To me, no breakfast is complete without a little fruit, a slice of cantaloupe, perhaps, or even a spoonful of blueberries. But buying fresh fruit in a grocery store these days is like playing Russian Roulette and chances are, you’ll lose.
I would say the odds of a $4 cantaloupe being ripe and tasty today are about 7 to 1 against. With honeydews, which go for five bucks, you have maybe a 50-50 shot. Blueberries are never sweet and juicy this time of year, nor are strawberries. It’s only the lonely pineapple that offers true and consistent value. Pineapples run about $2.39 at Aldi’s and I’ve never had a bad one. A pineapple will last for multiple breakfasts, and they are very good for you. The golden, tropical fruits are packed with essential nutrients, antioxidants and other enzymes that support the immune system and aid in digestion.
And they taste good. I remember on one of our cruises to Hawaii that the chefs served pineapples fresh from the fields, and they were delightfully sweet and juicy – one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth. Not all grocery store pineapple tastes like that, but they are the most consistently good-tasting fruits in the produce department.
The only problem with pineapples is getting them out of their shells. I solved this problem years ago with the purchase of one of the handiest items in my kitchen. It’s a Pineapple Corer/Slicer. They are razor sharp, they are stainless steel and can go directly into a dishwasher and they work! They will slice and core a pineapple in seconds. They are only about $4 at Amazon – the same cost as one unripe cantaloupe.
Buy lots of “apple pines” and a corer/slicer. That’s my grocery tip of the day.
