Make Way for the Pineberry
EmailABC's Lauren Stiffelman reports from London You may have heard of the pluot and the grapple, but now…the pineberry? A summer berry that looks like a white strawberry but tastes like a pineapple is going on sale in the United Kingdom this spring. The pineberry is white, covered with red seeds and has the same genetic make-up as a strawberry, but has the taste and smell of a pineapple. The British supermarket chain Waitrose will sell the pineberries in 45 stores across the UK for the next five weeks while they are in season. ”Designer fruit” have gained popularity in the last decade, and in the United States alone it has become a $100 million business. These fruits are a product of cross-breeding, not genetic engineering. The pineberry originated in South America as a wild variety of strawberry, and seven years ago Dutch farmers began growing the fruit commercially in glasshouses. The fruit turns from green to white with dark red seeds when ripe. The pineberries will sell for £2.99 ($4.50) per 4.5oz bag until April 13 and then sell for £3.99 ($6.00).
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April fool
Posted by: Stephan (London) | March 31, 2010, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm
A little too early, this should have been ‘leaked’ tomorrow …… April 1st or all fools day.
Posted by: EddieB | March 31, 2010, 3:08 pm 3:08 pm
Another need forfilled.
Posted by: hate-sucks | March 31, 2010, 4:00 pm 4:00 pm
I’m waiting for “Mango Berries”!
Posted by: Gerald | March 31, 2010, 4:04 pm 4:04 pm
Sounds interesting but when are they comming to the USA? Somehow can’t imagine it on Captain Crunch in the morning.
Posted by: Jim D | March 31, 2010, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm
Funniest thing about April Fools Day is seeing people so determined not to be fooled they make themselves look like idiots.
Posted by: Archielee | March 31, 2010, 9:51 pm 9:51 pm
A grapple is NOT the same as the other fruits listed. It is not the result of cross breeding. It’s an apple dipped in ARTIFICIAL grape flavor.
Posted by: ramp613 | March 31, 2010, 10:19 pm 10:19 pm
It’s a REAL fruit. It’s been around seven years already. There are sites that sell pineberry jam.
Get a book, watch tv, learn something.
Posted by: Jarronica Bizane | April 1, 2010, 12:43 am 12:43 am
im gonna go ahead and say its fake. that uk supermarket waitrose did something similar in 2009. just google waitrose 2009 april fools. they put out an ad claiming they sold pinanas (pineapple + banana).
Posted by: Victor | April 1, 2010, 1:04 am 1:04 am
I wish that people would do their research before jumping onto a story. This is a hoax. There is no “pineberry fruit”.
There *is* however, an internet design company named Pineberry that has several websites where it is clearly labeled as a fictional product.
Look at the site . It leads to the company’s real website, which clearly labels itself as an internet design company.
Posted by: Boodle | April 1, 2010, 4:24 am 4:24 am
My family has grown strawberries for years, and can tell you that White Alpine Strawberries are white with red seeds.
That being said though, we can order a fruit called pineberry that looks similar, but is much smaller, and tastes like pineapple. Whether what they have pictured in their story is that or a white alpine varity though I can’t say.
Posted by: Darien Stroff | April 1, 2010, 6:01 am 6:01 am
There is a “hoax” site as some have mentioned, but the fruit is real. It is a hybrid of Fragaria chiloensis, originating in South America and Fragaria virginiana, originating in North America.
White strawberries are not rare as garden supply companies have other white varieties of Strawberry called White Soul and White Delight.
Posted by: The_Mick | April 1, 2010, 7:24 am 7:24 am
Has anyone actually seen these mythical berries in Waitrose? A store that did something similar last year by putting out ads in the local papers for “pinanas”, a pineapple-banana hybrid? When you put together that 1) there’s a hoax site out there, 2) nobody’s laid hands on these berries or seen them in the stores, and 3) that Waitrose did a similar thing last year that turned out to be false, I honestly have trouble believing that this is real.
How hard would it be to take pictures of under-ripe strawberries or the albino strawberries that Darien mentioned, then tell people that it is a new type of fruit? Not very hard at all.
Posted by: Boodle | April 2, 2010, 12:02 am 12:02 am
I also mentioned that we can order a fruit called pineberry that looks similar to a Alpine White Strawberry, but is smaller, and tastes like pineapple.
Also, The Alpine White and the pineberries we order are NOT albinos or unripe berries, but actual, ripe berries. The pineberry tastes like pineapple.
Posted by: Darien Stroff | April 2, 2010, 1:44 am 1:44 am
april foo
Posted by: John | April 5, 2010, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm
Just bought a packet of pineberries, absolutely delicious,, wish they continued this for the whole year.. as for the aprils fool, I HAVE BOUGHT AN ACTUAL PACKET AND EATING IT RIGHT NOW
Posted by: ryan | April 6, 2010, 11:50 am 11:50 am
Where can I find one?
Posted by: Juan | April 9, 2010, 2:41 pm 2:41 pm