So….what to do with all these pines…..

Richard Bradley, mentioned in my post below as the first person to describe how to grow pineapples, was also the first person t publish a set of recipes relating to the use of the fruit.

Above is a copy of his recipe for Pine-Apple Tart.( taken from the facsimile edition of his bookThe Country Housewife and Lady Director in the Management of a House and the Delights and Profits of a Farm etc., 1721, part 2 page 94.

He also gives a recipe for:

Maramalade of Pine-Apples or Ananas

When you have small Pine-Apples in Fruit, which are not noble enough to be brought to the Table, twist off their crowns ,and pare them; then slice them , and put them into a Syrup of Water Sugar and Pippins( apples-JW); and boil them with half their quantity of Sugar added to them, with a little white wine, breaking them with a spoon as they boil, till they come to a Mash or are a little tender.

Take them from the Fire and put the Marmalade into Glasses to keep, and cover every Glass with white Paper , preserving them in a dry place..

p.95, as above.

Obviously one would not want to waste these expensive fruits, and making a preserve of the ones not good enough for the table or, possibly, those that have gone over, is a sensible thing to do. I wonder if Pine-apple preserve was served at the Northanger Dining table…?

The next recipe in his book is:

To dress the Giblets of a Tortoise or Sea Turtle. From a Barbadoes Lady…