crushed pineapple Archives - wit wisdom and food

Not much is better than the taste of fresh strawberries and blueberries and all they signal. Berry season is the first sign of summer for me. Time for shortcakes with whipped cream. Time for jam and jelly making. When berries get plentiful I can finally count on getting some peonies to fill the vases in my house. It is also the lead-in to my absolute favorite fruit season….stone fruits. No fruit excites me more than cherries. Apples are in a close tie with berries but we will talk about that this fall. I guess I just get really excited about fresh local fruit through the entire year. Every year I feel like I have to take full advantage of these short seasons and make as many things as possible with the delectable fruits before they are all plucked and I am waiting for next year.

Years ago, two to be exact, I wrote a post about blueberry bread. It is one of my favorite uses for fresh blueberries. With blueberry season creeping up on us I have decided to share it again. The unexpected ingredient that makes this bread different and so delicious is crushed pineapple. If you love this recipe try this carrot cake that also calls for crushed pineapple to keep it moist and sweet. The pineapple adds a sweetness that sugar alone just can’t bring. The blueberry bread has a very moist small crumb that makes it irresistible. The recipe makes two loaves so you will have one for you and one to share! It also makes great muffins or mini muffins.

blueberry bread

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tblsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
grease 2 9x5 loaf pans or grease 2 muffin tins
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add pineapple, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix. Stir in dry ingredients alternating with milk. Fold in blueberries and nuts (if using).
Fold the berries in gently so you don't break the skin. If you do no big deal some of them will break when they cook. It will just tint the bread a little blue, but it will still taste delicious.
Divide batter evenly between two loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.
Adjust cooking time if making muffins. Usually about half the time but check it at about 10 minutes to be sure.

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because sharing just feels good...

Just in case you didn’t get the reference, Violet Beauregard is a character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that chews Blueberry gum and fills up with juice. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the 1971 version, is one of my favorite movies. Don’t get me wrong I love the new Tim Burton version but nothing beats what you loved as a kid. That goes for the original Star Wars too, before they added scenes and E.T. before they took out “penis breath”and changed the guns to walkie talkies. Wow this is quickly turning into a completely different post than I set out to write. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is my lead into a post about the best blueberry quick bread. Hard to say where my mom got the recipe for this one but based on one of the ingredients I think a 1970′s issue of Better Homes and Gardens might be a good guess. That same surprising ingredient is also used in my mother-in-laws carrot cake, so who knows. Wherever these recipes came from they are both delicious because of one tiny little canned good. When I heard about the carrot cake being the best ever I knew it would be good but kind of figured every son must love their mom’s carrot cake and maybe they do but he is right, it is amazing. A lot of that has to do with it being so moist. I couldn’t figure it out when I ate it but when I got the recipe from one of his sisters it all became suddenly clear.

Crushed Pineapple! I knew it the minute I read it because my mom’s blueberry bread was always so good and it also has crushed pineapple. It seems to give it a sweet taste without being overpowering and it makes the finished product really moist. I could be wrong and maybe there is some other science behind it but I would try any recipe with crushed pineapple as an ingredient. As a matter of fact if anyone has any they want to share we would be happy to have them at our house.

If you want to try a recipe for yourself here is the blueberry quick bread that I loved growing up.

Blueberry Quick Bread

Makes 2 loaves of bread or approx. 24 muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

grease 2 9×5 loaf pans or grease 2 muffin tins

2/3 cup butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 cup crushed pineapple

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 Tblsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 cups blueberries

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add pineapple, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix. Stir in dry ingredients alternating with milk. Fold in blueberries and nuts (if using).

Divide batter evenly between two loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Adjust cooking time if making muffins. Usually about half the time but check it at about 10 minutes to be sure.