Location: The Dole Plantation, Wahiawa, Oahu
I love pineapples! I’ve always loved pineapples. They are, by far, my favourite fruit. They’re sweet and tangy and delicious and even come in my favourite colour (that’s gold, by the way). Just when I thought pineapples couldn’t get better, the Dole Whip entered my life. You’ve already read about my love of the whip in a previous posts (Bliss In A Cup & Windward Coast), so I’ll spare you the graphic details again. It’s safe to say, with a love this deep, I couldn’t let the opportunity to indulge one more time pass when I was so close. Ok, 2hrs away by city bus might not be considered as ‘so close’ to some of you, but considering that when I’m home, the closest Dole Whip stand is in Florida, this distance was peanuts! Also, on my last visit to the Dole Plantation, the only thing I had visited was the line up to the cash, so I decided to brave the journey and explore one of Hawai’i’s most visited sites.
The Dole Plantation is located in Wahiawa, in the North Shore region of Oahu. As the bus approaches the main entrance, we passed by fields of pineapples. Unbelievably picturesque setting for a pineapple farm! Unfortunately, you can’t really explore these fields (good thing – I totally would pull a strawberry picking move; you know, pick one, eat two). What you can visit is the Plantation building, located on the site of the original fruit stand in 1950.
Upon entering, you’re immediately swallowed up by the world’s largest pineapple themed gift store.
They sell everything pineapple related from magnets to t-shirts, candy to sauces, jams, jellies and even jewelry.
There’s also a pineapple maze outdoors and you can hop on the ‘pineapple express’ train for a tour of the grounds. I chose the cheaper option: a free stroll through the pineapple garden! There are some very informative displays about the farming and harvesting of pineapples as well as the history of the Dole Food Company. James Dole came to Oahu as a 22-year-old graduate with an agriculture degree. He experimented with various fruits however found that the volcanic soil wasn’t favourable to growing most crops. With one exception: the pineapple. That’s how the Pineapple King started his Hawaiian empire.
Inside, there are regular pineapple demonstrations. If you time it right, you can hit up more than one of them and enjoy the free samples (I did it 3 times!!). A Dole employee walks you through how to choose a pineapple and how best to cut it. Now, at home I have one of those fancy William Sonoma pineapple corer gadget. However, how they cut their pineapples seem way more simple.
Here is how to cut a pineapple in 4 easy steps:
Step 1: Remove the crown by twisting it. Cut the pineapple in half and then into quarters.
Step 2: Trim off the ends and remove the core from the centre of the quarters. I don’t mind the core but that’s usually because I’m lazy & find removing it to be a hassle.
Step 3: Use a paring knife (I honestly have no clue what that is) or one of those fancy Dole branded pineapple knives to remove the fruit from its shell. They recommend washing the fruit at this stage, something about how it helps with tolerating eating a lot of pineapple but honestly I wasn’t paying attention as my mind was on sampling on of those Royal Hawaiian Pineapple pieces.
Step 4: Cut into bite-size pieces. Here, they sprinkle some Li Hing powder over the fruit (Lin Hing is a sweet and sour powder made from dried plums with added salt- a unique Hawaiian treat) for added deliciousness.
Step 5: Enjoy!
Apparently, you can even grow your own pineapple by soaking the crown in water than transplanting it into potted soil and of course waiting 7-9 months for it to grow!
And of course, I finished my visit with the main event: Dole Whip! Come on, I dare you to tell me that doesn’t look delicious!!?
Be like a pineapple: Stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside.
(I do apologize for the food heavy tone of this post. A friend of mine told me before I left in the fall: “Please don’t fill your blog with photos of everything you eat. That’s annoying.” All I can say is: sorry, not sorry! 😉)