Antigua Black Pineapple

The Antigua Black pineapple is the national fruit of Antigua and Barbuda and a point of real local pride. It is a compact pineapple, smaller than the supermarket varieties, with a dark greenish-bronze skin when ripe and pale golden flesh. Its reputation rests on sweetness: Antiguans will tell you it is among the sweetest pineapples in the world, notably low in acid, with a core tender enough to eat.

It grows chiefly in the southwest of the island, in the warm, well-drained ground around Cades Bay and the hills along Fig Tree Drive. Roadside stands in that part of Antigua sell the fruit freshly cut, and it is a regular fixture at the public market in St. John's. Because the variety is small and grown locally rather than for mass export, the best place to taste it is on the island itself.

Eat it simply, cut into wedges and chilled, or look for it turned into juice, ice cream, and tarts. If you are driving the scenic southwest, buying a black pineapple from a farm stand near Cades Bay is one of the easiest ways to taste why Antiguans put this fruit on their national emblem.

A practical tip on ripeness: unlike the bright-yellow pineapples sold elsewhere, the Antigua Black is at its best when the skin still looks greenish rather than fully golden, so do not wait for it to turn yellow. Vendors will usually pick one out for you and even cut it on the spot. The fruit pairs the scenic drive along Fig Tree Drive with an edible souvenir of the trip, and a chilled wedge after a hot day on the south-coast beaches is hard to beat. Because it does not travel well, treat eating one on the island as the experience itself.