Good morning and welcome!
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It's been a long time since I've sewn a quilt and used the pineapple pattern.
Alice Brooks, 1940
St. Louis Dispatch, 1933
Aunt Matilda, 1932:
Contrary to what Aunt Matilda wrote (that it was one of the oldest quilt pattern) I doubted it went back to the colonial era of quilting. Sure enough, I found this article from Barbara Brackman that indicated it was used after the 1870s.
My cousin's lately culinary debacle got me thinking of the quilt pattern. She is in her 20s and was making Easter dinner for the family. She decided since she had fresh pineapple in her fridge, to adorn the ham she was baking with the fruit.
It surprised when the ham had reduced to what the family referred to as "mere mush." As it turns out, fresh pineapple on meat will do this. There is an enzyme in pineapple called bromelain that breaks down the meat until it is mush.
I never heard of this but always used canned pineapple on my ham. The canning process cleans out the bromelain.
So there it is--your cooking tip of the week-- pineapple is a welcome fruit, just not fresh pineapple on your meat.
Have a good day!
