Man who eats three pineapples a weekend earns world record with his favourite fruit
A man who loves pineapple so much he eats three of them every weekend has broken a world record with his favourite fruit.
Rich Ellenson (USA) shaved almost 10 seconds off the fastest time to peel and slice a pineapple.
He did it in just 17.85 seconds when he took on the challenge in Concord, California, in April, compared to the 27.07 seconds the record previously stood at.
Dressed the part in a matching pineapple-printed shirt and shorts set, Rich expertly sliced and chopped the pineapple into cubes.
“I love pineapple,” Rich told us. “It’s my favourite fruit. Every weekend I’ll buy three and eat one a day in a single sitting.
“I have learned the hard way that pineapple contains bromelain, which is an enzyme that tenderizes meat. All of which means if you eat too much pineapple, your tongue will be tenderized. Ouch!”
Rich, 44, practised for months after applying for this record, cutting up around 100 pineapples in the process.
He tried out numerous techniques to find the speediest way to slice the fruit up and even purchased pineapples from 13 different supermarkets and vendors to find the perfect produce for his attempt.
Rich’s pineapple slicing attracted a crowd of supporters, who went along to cheer him on even though it was a bit of a gloomy day.
He went along armed with 12 pineapples to ensure he had plenty of goes at breaking the record.
For this record, after removing the peel and core, each slice/chunk must measure a maximum of 3.8 cm (1.5 in) on each side.
Dad-of-two Rich recalled: “Unfortunately folks would have to wait a bit to celebrate a valid attempt as the food service professional properly rejected my first seven attempts.
“For the first few attempts I could tell immediately that they weren’t valid because my adrenaline was so high I forgot all of my months of practice!
“Then I settled down and a few attempts were rejected because the side of a single piece or two were just barely too big, but too big nonetheless per the rules which were properly enforced and the attempts were correctly rejected.”
But then came his “perfect run” on his eighth attempt.
“The food service professional took all the time he wanted to review the quality of slices and the pieces and found that all of them fit in the measuring cube,” Rich said.
“He deemed it an acceptable attempt! I asked him more than once if he was sure and he confirmed each time that he approved – I wanted no doubt left! Phew! I was so relieved.
“Ironically pineapple #8 wasn’t the tastiest and had a bruise on a small bit of its fruit, but I’m happy with it for sure.
If you fail, you have to get back up and try, try again. I like to think of this as the Great Pineapple Perseverance.
Rich, who works for the federal government, said his application approval came at the perfect time.
He’d just completed some very stressful home renovations and felt concentrating on earning this world record was the perfect way to reset his mental health.
“When the GWR application approval came in, it couldn’t have come at a better time for my mental well-being,” he said.
“I now had something that was healthy to obsess over. Cutting more than 100 pineapples to practise over a few months was fine, figuring out the best method was fine, coordinating key participants was also fine – all happy tasks.
“All of the thinking needed for this attempt was healthy for me.”
Rich also attempted his record on his late father’s birthday and felt it was a unique way to honour his memory.