During
the American colonial era, a hostess's ability to have a pineapple
for an important dining event said as much about her rank as it
did about her resourcefulness. So sought after were the prickly
fruits that colonial confectioners sometimes rented them to households
by the day.
Later,
the same fruit was sold to other, more affluent clients who actually
ate it. As you might imagine, hostesses would have gone to great
lengths to conceal the fact that the pineapple that was the visual
apogee of their table display and a central topic of their guests'
conversation was only rented.
In
larger, well-to-do homes, the dining room doors were kept closed
to heighten visitors' suspense about the table being readied on
the other side. At the appointed moment, and with the maximum amount
of pomp and drama, the doors were flung open to reveal the evening's
main event. Visitors confronted with pineapple-topped food displays
felt particularly honored by a hostess who obviously spared no expense
to ensure her guests' dining pleasure.
As
well, during the War of Northern Agression even well-to-do homes
in the South were not spared from supply shortages. For the better
part of the period, everything from tea to fruit to liquor was simply
not to be had at any price. However, there was never a shortage
of pirates and bootleggers who occasionally managed to make it through
the Northern Navy blockades. A wealthy Southern lady who came into
some good silent signal to her neighbors and friends that she had
received some "goods" and they were welcome to discretely
call on her as a hostess. If there was no pineapple, there would
be no entertaining because no decent Southerner would entertain
without ample supply of "indulgences."
In
this manner, the fruit which was the visual keystone of a feast
naturally came to symbolize the high spirits of the social events
themselves; the image of the pineapple coming to express the sense
of welcome, good cheer, human warmth and family affection inherent
to such gracious home gatherings.
What's with the pineapple?