Does anyone grow pineapples in Italy?

[Robert G]

Have you tried dining in Pizza Express or Zizi and asking for:

(i) a pineapple juice, or

(ii) a Hawiian style pizza (or any pizza with pineapple on it), or

(iii) a sweet containing pineapple?

You will be disappointed if you do, but you can certainly have some fun trying!

It is not their policy to serve pineapple in any form, so I was told. Apparently this is because pineapples are not native to Italy. I'd love to be able to prove them wrong. Do you know of anyone who grows pineapples in Italy?

Also, I shouldn't be surprised if these restaurant chains do serve other products which are not native to Italy.

[JamesEverton]

I'm feeling your pain but I'm pretty sure that you can only grow pineapples, in Europe, in a hothouse. It's certainly not native to Italy. Have tried to think of some other non-Italian ingredients that may be served in Pizza Express but haven't managed any yet.

[andyjevs]

Pineapples are a member of the Bromeliad family (bromeliacea). These are generally humid loving tropical plants which grow on trees and are called epiphites.

However, pineapples (ananas comosus) are sun loving and require hot, dry conditions to succeed. I'm pretty certain that the conditions in the southern USA and Mexico are ideal....but that's off the top of my head.

Don't think mushrooms are italian or sweetcorn !!!

[kempie]

What if an Italian asks for pineapple?

http://www.babbonyc.com/dolci-pineapple.html

[kempie]

The sheer irony is that Hawaii's pineapple industry grew out of the development of a peeling and coring machine, thus facilitating the canning process, invented by a company engineer for The Hawaiian Pineapple Company, Henry Ginaca ... an Italian immigrant.

[Robert G]

All the more reason why pineapples should not be boycotted by Italian, or pseudo Italian restaurants, then. Is it only Pizza Express and Zizi, I wonder?

Thanks for some interesting contributions, especially about tomatoes.

[kempie]

Does this mean that Luigi Amaduzzi got what he wanted...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1160615,00.html

[andrewlee]

I cannot ever remember seeing pineapple being served in any restaurant in Italy, except as a dessert.

However, mushrooms are grown extensively in the north; we once went for a meal in Albenga, famous for its wild mushrooms. We ordered mushroom pizza, expecting a feast, but were sadly disappointed - tinned mushrooms, ugh!

Try porcini (dried) mushrooms -- fantastic flavour!