Ham and Pineapple with Rice

Pineapple is not native to Hawaii. It was first canned and became a major crop there, so therefore we associate pineapple with Hawaii and the islands. 

Ananas comosus is the botanical name for pineapple. Native to South America, it was named for its resemblance to a pine cone.

Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering the pineapple on the island of Guadeloupe in 1493, although the fruit had long been grown in South America.

Another explorer, Magellan, is credited with finding pineapples in Brazil in 1519, and by 1555, the fruit was being exported to England. It soon spread to India, Asia, and the West Indies.

In 1751, George Washington tasted pineapple. In Barbados, he declared it his favorite tropical fruit. Although the pineapple thrived in Florida, it was still a rarity for most Americans.

Captain James Cook later introduced the pineapple to Hawaii circa 1770. Commercial cultivation did not begin until the 1880s when steamships made transporting the perishable fruit viable.

In 1903, James Drummond Dole began canning pineapple, making it easily accessible worldwide. Production stepped up dramatically when a new machine automated the skinning and coring of the fruit. The Dole Hawaiian Pineapple Company was a booming business by 1921, making pineapple Hawaii's largest crop and industry. Today, Hawaii produces only ten percent of the world's pineapple crops.

Research Source: About Home Cooking

This Ham and Pineapple with rice will surely welcome your gang to the dinner table.

Ham and Pineapple with Rice

Copyrighted 2014, Christine’s Pantry. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked rice

2 cups cooked ham, cubed

1 small onion, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup pineapple chunks, drained

1/2 cup pineapple juice

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

In a skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 3 minutes. Add ham and pineapple chunks, heat through about 5 minutes.

Pour pineapple juice over ham mixture. Heat through and serve over rice. Enjoy!