Roald Dahl must have had a giant pineapple too

Roald Dahl’s Cookbook, Felicity and Roald Dahl, photographs by Jan Baldwin, Penguin Books 1991

Spiced Pear Jam with Pineapple (recipe of their friend Phoebe)

Makes 4-5 450g jars

1 ½ kg pears; 1 orange; 1 lemon; 4 slices fresh or unsweetened canned pineapple; 6 cloves; 1 cinnamon stick; 3cm piece of fresh ginger; 3 cups sugar

1. Wash and quarter pears and remove pips.

2. Quarter orange and lemon, remove end rind and pips. Place in food processor with pineapple, and pulp.

3. Place pulp and pears in pan. Add sugar and spices ties in a muslin bag. Boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 30 – 40 minutes, until soft and mushy.

4. Pour into clean jars, allow to cool and seal. 

Ginger Up Your Pineapple

Ginger Up Your Cookery, Edited by Charles Seely, decorations by Kate Simunek, London 1977

Pear Mango Salad

1 small fresh pineapple; 225g creamed cottage cheese; 2 pears, peeled and cut in chunks; 1 mango, peeled and sliced; 1 ½ tblspn toasted, sliced Brazil nuts; 1 ½ tblspn sliced preserved ginger; sweet French dressing

Beginning at crown, cut pineapple in half lengthways. Scoop out fruit. In bottom of each half, place layer of cottage cheese. Remove core from pineapple and cut fruit into chunks. Place layer over the cottage cheese. Arrange a layer each of pears and mangoes over the pineapple. Top with a sprinkling of ginger and nuts, and serve with a sweet French dressing. Serves 4.