Madhupur pineapple

The story

The Madhupur tract is a low plateau of red, well-drained laterite soil that rises above the floodplains of central Bangladesh. That soil, which never stays waterlogged, suits pineapple far better than the paddy land around it, and over the decades the upazila of Madhupur in Tangail has become the country's pineapple heartland. Local accounts credit the Garo community of the area with planting the first suckers, brought from the hills of Meghalaya, in the middle of the twentieth century; the exact year differs between sources, but by the 1970s pineapple had become the main cash crop of the area.

Two varieties dominate. Honey Queen, locally called jaldugi, is the smaller, deep-yellow fruit with a very sweet, fragrant flesh that is picked mainly in May and June. Giant Kew, which farmers call calendar, is much larger and juicier, a little more tart, and is harvested mostly in July and August. In season the roads around Jalchhatra market are lined with bicycles and vans stacked high with fruit heading for Dhaka and beyond.

In September 2024 the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks registered pineapple of the Madhupur garh area as a Geographical Indication, following an application from the Tangail district administration. The tag names a place and a tradition; it does not certify any single orchard, and growers and newspapers have pointed out that the Madhupur name is also put on fruit grown elsewhere.

How to spot the real Madhupur pineapple

Start with the season and the variety. A small, round, intensely sweet pineapple in May or June is most likely Honey Queen; a long, heavy fruit with broad leaves in July or August is usually Giant Kew. A fruit sold as Madhupur in December is almost certainly not from the main harvest. A naturally ripened pineapple turns yellow from the base upward while the top stays partly green, and when you smell the base it gives off a clear sweet scent. Fruit that is evenly bright yellow all over yet has little smell may have been ripened with hormone sprays, a practice Bangladeshi newspapers have reported widely in the Madhupur belt. Such fruit is often watery and bland. Press gently near the base: it should give a little, but there should be no soft, leaking or fermented patches.

Buying tips

Ask the seller which variety they are offering, which upazila it comes from and when it was picked. Honest growers and traders can usually tell you the orchard or market, such as Jalchhatra, and whether they use hormone sprays. Pineapple is heavy and bruises easily, so ask how each fruit will be wrapped and how many days the parcel will be on the road; fruit picked slightly underripe travels better than fruit picked fully yellow.

Each shop on Midmart sets its own delivery charge, so pineapples from one seller and jackfruit from another arrive as two parcels with two charges. Midmart does not take your payment or deliver anything: you agree the price, payment method and courier directly with the seller. A shop calling its fruit Madhupur pineapple is not proof of origin, so ask the questions above before you confirm.

Keeping it fresh

A ripe pineapple will not get sweeter after picking, only softer. Keep a whole fruit at room temperature, out of the sun, and eat it within two or three days; standing it upside down on its leaves for a few hours helps spread the sugar through the flesh. Once cut, store the pieces in a covered container in the fridge and eat them within two to three days.

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