Thai Fruit Primer

Pineapples (Sapparot) Scientific name: Ananas comosus Merr. Season: April to June & December to January

The pineapple is native of Central America and West Indies. Pineapples have been grown in Thailand for several centuries.

The sandy soil along the sea coasts is ideal for their cultivation. Thailand now ranks as the world's leading exporter of canned pineapple.

Besides being eaten fresh or drunk as juice, the chopped fruit is often an ingredient of cooked dishes such as a spicy soup called kaeng khua sapparot and phat sapparot, which is fried pineapple with prawns, chillies, and onions.

The main fruiting seasons for Thailand are April to June and December to January but some varieties are on the market year-round.