Spotting pineapples on Oahu, day 5

Sissa at her Shaved Ice stall in Waikiki presenting me with an enormous Pineapple/Orange treat! There was no pineapple syrup left as it is soooooo popular here! Anne

Pineapples, Passion Fruit and Poi: Recipes from Hawaii by Mary Lou Gebhard & William H. Butler, Illustrations by Hide Doki, 1967

Golden Punch

6 cups pineapple juice; 4 cups orange juice; 6 small bottles 7-UP or ginger ale; orange slices

Combine chilled pineapple and orange juices; pour over cake of ice in punchbowl. Add 7-UP. Garnish with orange slices.

Now I’m looking for a secluded field of pineapples so I can try Pineapple Swipes! Anne

Pineapple Swipes

“Since the days of the great god Maui, Hawaiians, like good menfolk the world over, have found solace in the cup that cheers . . . Drawing on inborn ingenuity in times of great need, the Hawaiian tippler seized on the introduction of the pineapple to the Islands as a boon to the common man. . . The name . . . Pineapple Swipes . .. . is doubtless derived from the fact that one must first ‘swipe’ his pineapple. . .

First, you locate a sun-ripened pineapple, still on the plant, and neatly slice off the top and set it carefully aside. Then, with a long-bladed knife or chopstick, mulch the interior of the fruit, being careful not to puncture the outer skin. Next, sprinkle a cup of sugar into the mashed up contents, and for expedience, drop in a corner from a square of yeast. Now replace the top and pint it in place with a couple of slivers of wood or toothpicks and go on your way, keeping patient for at least three days, if you’re in a hurry – or four or five days if you can wait that long.

The pineapple will repose in the tropical sun while the yeast and sugar and fruit do their work, and when you return, you will find what must be the original ‘nectar of the gods’. Pluck your now fermented fruit cautiously – don’t spill a drop, and hide yourself into a cool, shady spot, uncap the pineapple and sup away.

Caution: if you are alone, do not leave your family in an expectant mood, as you will, no doubt, repose a good eight hours before the load wears off – for this, my friend, is the smoothest, most alcoholic nectar to be had for the price of: 1 cup sugar, 1 pinch of yeast, and 1 swiped pineapple.” The authors.