AND THE ANSWER IS A PINEAPPLE In this biography of the pineapple, the author describes her encounters with the fruit in many parts of the world - Australia, Papau New Guinea, Great Britain, USA, Nepal, Vietnam, the Phillipines, Laos, Bangladesh, Tobago, Kenya and Ghana. She deals with the cultivation of the pineapple, its discovery by Christopher Columbus, and its introduction to the western world and then by European colonial powers to Asia, Africa and the Pacific. The pineapple has become symbolic of different things to different cultures and has lent its shape to such diverse items as architectural elements in Scotland and Kenya, patchwork quilt patterns in the USA, textile design in Laos and Bangladesh, devotional requisites and esoteric flags in Ghana. The book features more than 40 pineapple recipes collected from around the world. There are also instructions for making a green dye for silk using pineapple leaves, pineapple patterns for patchwork and origami paper patterns.