A pineapple is a large tropical fruit with sweet yellow flesh inside and a spiky, tough outer skin. The top sprouts spiky green leaves that look almost like a crown, which is why European explorers in the 1600s named it “pineapple”: they thought it resembled a pine cone, but with the added treasure of edible fruit inside.

Pineapples grow in hot climates on low plants, not on trees as many people imagine. Each plant produces just one fruit at a time, which takes about 18 months to grow. Christopher Columbus encountered pineapples in the Caribbean in 1493, and European settlers eventually brought them to Hawaii, which became famous for pineapple plantations in the 1900s.

For centuries, pineapples were so rare and expensive in Europe and America that wealthy people would sometimes rent them just to display at parties as a sign of hospitality and status, and they might not even eat them. Today, pineapples are affordable and common, showing up in fruit salads, on pizza (which some people love and others can't stand), and in sweet drinks. The fruit contains an enzyme that breaks down protein, which is why eating too much fresh pineapple can make your mouth feel tingly or sore.