Hot Dish

Brand-new from Mother Nature: Del Monte Gold pineapples. Del Monte began developing this new variety of pineapple more than 10 years ago in Costa Rica, which is evidently the Alaska of pineapples: They just naturally grow bigger and sweeter in Costa Rica. But Mother Nature’s little helpers at Del Monte bred even more sugar and size into their new fruit the old-fashioned way–by plant breeding and improved cultivation, rather than gene-manipulating in the lab. The result is probably the prettiest pineapple you’ve ever seen, plus it has more ascorbic acid/vitamin C, but what really matters is that this is the sweetest, juiciest pineapple you’ve ever tasted. Ask for them at your gourmet grocers.

–Mary Brown Malouf