Aussies develop pina-colada pineapple

I don't normally like people messing around with mother nature too much but I thought this worth punting. Australian researchers are working on a new breed of pineapple - one that is not only sweet and juicy but which has the added tropical taste of coconut.

Two years ago, scientists in Queensland, which has a warm climate and produces various tropical fruits, developed Australia's first home-grown pineapple, called the Australian Jubilee. Most Australian pineapples are Hawaiian-bred varieties. Queensland produces more than 80,000 tons of pineapples a year butthe government has been looking to create less costly and tastier varieties to compete with cheaper imports.

In what is thought to be a world first, the Department of Agriculture in Queensland state is in the final stages of developing the new variety of the fruit, to be known as the AusFestival pineapple. "Taste tests tell us that AusFestival is a winner - it has this lovely coconut flavour, which you won't find in any other pineapple in Australia,"horticulturalist Garth Senewski told the ABC in comments aired on Wednesday. "It's sweet, low acid, very juicy."

Senewski, who could not be reached for comment, said the researchers did not initially intend to create a pineapple that tasted like coconut. "When we're doing the breeding, we're not actually looking for a coconut-flavoured pineapple or any other particular flavour," he said.

"We're looking for a nice flavoured pineapple. We're looking for a variety that is sweet, low acid and aromatic." The Department of Agriculture confirmed the development to AFP but said anyone hoping for a "pina colada" pineapple will have to wait as it will be two years before the first trees are planted commercially.

Having said that I never figured the Aussies would drink anything other than beer. The video below shows how Drambuie crashed  down under.