Why is pineapple called ananas everywhere?
It was named “pineapple” by the European explorers due to its resemblance to a pine cone. In many countries, however, the prized fruit has a name similar to “ananas” that comes from the Tupi word “nanas,” meaning “excellent fruit,” and was recorded by André Thevet, a French Franciscan priest and explorer in 1555.
What was pineapple originally called?
It was first catalogued by Columbus’s expedition to Guadeloupe in 1493, and they called it piña de Indes, meaning “pine of the Indians”—not because the plant resembled a pine tree (it doesn’t) but because they thought the fruit looked like a pine cone (umm, … it still doesn’t.
