Frozen Pineapple Suppliers in Costa Rica
If you like pineapple or you are looking into possible providers for frozen pineapple, you are in luck. This tropical fruit, it’s not only extremely delicious and appetizing all year long, it’s also full of benefits for our organism.
In this article you will find some characteristics, curiosities and how to find providers of this tropical fruit in Costa Rica and some of its qualities and cuts.
Pineapple and its characteristics
Pineapple is known for being sought after in European or Asian countries. This fruit is found in the plant that shares its name, it has an oval shape approximately 30 centimeters long and 15 centimeters in diameter.
It’s pulp is edible which is surrounded by a green skin which turns orange once it’s ripe, which is great for consumers and industrial farms that can guarantee that the insides are in good condition.
Ripe pineapple has a very unique fragrance. It has a bright yellow color and a bittersweet flavor. It can be eaten fresh or as an ingredient for juices, jellies or even cocktails, such as the well renowned “Piña Colada”. Both the fruit and its leaves can be used for the fabrication of medicinal components.
Pineapples have a very high content of water, with natural sugars following it, the protein and fat levels of it are extremely low. Its Caloric value is low, giving around 64 to 101 kcal. Which makes it perfect for weight loss diets.
Even though pineapples have a protective shell, it is very susceptible to temperature changes, so it is recommended to be stored at 10-13ºC if partially ripe and 7-10ºC if fully ripe, also maintaining a humidity of 85 to 90% is optimal.
Pineapple in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is renowned as one of the biggest producers of pineapple worldwide. In 2010 the production of pineapple in Costa Rica was around 9.1% of all pineapple production in the world and it has only been expanding in the past years.
The United States and Europe receive most of its pineapple supplies from Costa Rica, Europe consuming around 49% and the United States 46% of Costa Rica’s production.
Most costarican people take advantage of this product when they want to indulge themselves in such a delicacy. This is enabled by having around the year production of the fruit, making it easy for people to find supply and be able to supply large parts of the world with it.
Frozen Pineapple: Suppliers and usage
If you are looking for frozen pineapple, we are leaving here some tips on where you can find such a product.
Suppliers in Costa Rica change according to the market we are referring to. As principal exporters, we have Dole and Del Monte.
These companies have their limits because of compromises done beforehand with external markets, so finding the product consistently can be done in places like the “Cenada” in Heredia.
Frozen Pineapple is normally produced in an industrial process called IQF and it has as its primary objective prolong the lifespan of the fruit. But, when freezing it using this system, it can only be used for shakes, smoothies, ice creams and yogurts.
The reason why it can only be used in products of this kind is that when it becomes frozen, the internal fibers of the fruit break apart, making it lose its texture, flavor and properties; making it an imperative when looking for providers of the system they use for freezing it.
Pineapple comes in a variety of presentations when frozen, normally packed in triangles of different sizes. Common sizes are ⅛,1/12 and 1/16, meaning that the piece of the pineapple is cut in 8, 12 or 16 slices.
Building on this system, we developed an integral freezing system called Prime Freezing System which avoids fiber breakage when freezing it, which means that the product will extend its lifespan but once unfrozen it will not lose its characteristics such as its flavor, texture and fragrance.
This lets us deliver fruits in more quantity, easier and maintaining its fresh properties, reducing waste, lowering costs and improving people’s lifestyle.
