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The history of the **Azores Pineapple** is quite interesting and began in the 19th century on São Miguel Island.
The Portuguese discovered the fruit during the colonization of Brazil and brought it to the Azores Archipelago, where it was cultivated in greenhouses and treated as an ornamental plant for cultural experimentation and botanical curiosity. It was only later that they realized the pineapple was a tasty fruit with significant commercial value.
Fotografia de ByAçores
In 1864, the first industrial-style greenhouse was built, with a capacity for 800 plants. The development was so rapid that shortly afterward, São Miguel Island already had 4,300 production greenhouses, thus starting the first pineapple exports.
By the early 20th century, the Azores Pineapple, internationally known, began to be exported to countries such as England, Germany, and Russia.
After over a century of commercialization in Europe, an important milestone for the Azores Pineapple was achieved in 1996 when the Azores/S. Miguel Pineapple Denomination of Origin was registered and protected by the European Commission through Regulation (EC) No. 1107/96, on June 12th.
Today, most of its production occurs in the city of Ponta Delgada.
### Azores Pineapple Plantation
The Azores Pineapple is produced in glass greenhouses using traditional cultivation techniques, applying “smoke” and using “hot beds” made of plant material.
It’s important that this “hot bed” soil is rich in organic matter to ensure the quality of the pineapples. Only one fruit is produced per pineapple plant.
Fotografia de Cristina Pinto
In the first month of production, the plantation needs to be abundantly watered, and during the following months, this irrigation is reduced until it is completely stopped in the phase known as maturation, where significant changes occur in the physical and chemical aspects of the pineapples.
The “smoke” application occurs after four months and aims to burn vegetables inside the greenhouses so that the plants can all bloom at the same speed, thus maintaining control over the entire production.
