Take A Bite Into The Rare & Refreshing Antigua Black Pineapple

Beaches aren’t the only attraction when it comes to the Caribbean. The region holds an almost endless number of traditions, celebrations, and cultural artifacts that attract visitors from around the globe. Some of them you can only see with your own eyes, or touch with your own hands to truly know and experience.

The best ones of them all, perhaps, are the ones you can taste.

The signature fruit of Antigua, the Antigua Black pineapple, is known world-round as the sweetest and rarest variety there is. Don’t let the name fool you, these pineapples are as perfectly golden as anyone you’ve seen before, if not more so. The difference comes where it counts: on the inside.

The Antigua Black is said to have a much higher sugar content and lower acidity than more common varieties of pineapple. This combination means the fruit is especially pleasing to the palate, a taste described by those who have tried it as unlike any other they’ve had before.

Be careful biting into an Antigua Black: you may not be able to enjoy another variety of pineapple again.

These pineapples are raised for quality, not quantity, making their unmatched sweetness a true treat to uncover among Caribbean fruits. Local farmers take advantage of Antigua’s rich soil, moderate rain, and nearly endless sunshine to raise up these paragons of pineapple perfection. No artificial ingredients here: just the fruits of the bountiful land.

With the nation’s name as its own, the Antigua Black is a point of pride for the entire country. It even stands atop the Antiguan coat of arms, a fitting tribute to a delight found nowhere else on the planet. If any other country grew a pineapple this good, you can imagine they’d want to advertise it just as well.

While for many years they were grown only by small, independent farmers, in the mid-20th century the Antiguan government established agricultural lands dedicated solely to cultivating these amazing fruits. Although there are now 20 acres teeming with pineapple perfection, the Antigua Black is still a precious commodity, and only those who make their way to this tropical paradise are able to sample its splendor.

Antigua Black Pineapples can’t be found at supermarkets stateside. In fact, they rarely leave the island. Their ripeness is as delicate as an Antiguan hibiscus flower, so much so that the fruits can’t be transported out or grown in other conditions lest they spoil. Just as the beaches have to be seen in order to be believed, it takes a trip down to Antigua to taste the best pineapple the world has to offer.

You can find them in Antigua’s finest bars and restaurants, but many say the best Antigua Blacks are to be found on one of the many roadside stands along the nation’s dusty side roads. Pull over and take a bite into one of the Caribbean’s finest food traditions, you won’t regret it!