BandungBergerak.id – Wine was a "must" drink for Europeans that was difficult to obtain in the Dutch East Indies. It took a lot of time and money to bring the drink from European and African wine-producing countries.

Exciting news, as written by Ir. J. A. Nijholt in Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie, March 11, 1935, finally arrived. Bandung already had a fresh and nutritious alternative drink squeezed directly from the fruit, which is pineapple. At that time, bottled pineapple juice was served at Maison Bogerijen, Bandung.

It was J. S. Fransen, a former ice cream factory manager in Bandung who turned into a small-scale pineapple farmer in the Purwakarta area, who had the clever idea. He squeezed the pineapple fruit and drank the fresh juice directly without any additives to taste the freshness. Fransen began to market the pineapple juice and joined hands with Leendert van Bogerijen, the owner of the elite and famous restaurant in Bragaweg Bandung and many other elite restaurant owners in Batavia.

At that time, every Saturday afternoon, the European community in Bandung liked to spend time having dinner with their families, or just hanging out over drinks with colleagues. So, whatever the restaurant sold would attract customers. Of course, the pineapple juice, priced at 30 cents per half-liter bottle, is also sold out.

Seeing this good development, Fransen considered his first experiment a success. So from that small pineapple farm, he managed to open up a much larger plot of land and build a high-powered hydraulic press to manage the pineapples produced by his farm to make fresh juice. Soon contracts were signed with Maison Bogereijen in Bandung and several restaurants in Batavia to supply large quantities of pineapple juice.

Fransen's idea of making juice from pineapples pleased the Europeans at the time. Not only because pineapple was an exotic fruit that added to the rich variety of fruits in the Dutch East Indies at that time, but also because the pineapple produced by his company was able to produce a drink that reminded them of delicious grape juice. In fact, they no longer needed to conserve the drink, as they limited themselves to drinking grape juice in small glasses and gulping it down, so precious was the drink imported from far-off southern Africa.

Pineapple Is Not An Endemic Fruit Of The Indonesian Archipelago

The Dutch East Indies is a very interesting producer of exotic fruits, and has become an export commodity. Reported in the Jaarboekje der Vereeniging Ooftteelt, or yearbook of the Plant Cultivation Association, which was later compiled by Dr. K. W. van Gorkom, in his book Oost-Indische cultures, 1913, the Netherlands has long been supplied with fruits that cannot even grow in Europe.

Fruits such as duku rambutan, kbembem, kemang, kupa, menteng, bijitan, guava, kapusan, gandaria, kweni have entered the Dutch market. It's just that they haven't found the right way to ship them. Often when the fruits were shipped by steamship, they were rotten by the time they reached their destination.

In the yearbook published in 1909-1910, Dr. K. W. van Gorkom mentions that pineapples are not yet one of the export commodities from the Indies. But in the same book, on page 617, it is just mentioned that Europeans should be grateful to Brazil, because in their tropical lands in South America a wild plant most desired by Europeans has grown, with the Latin name Ananas sativus.

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Pineapple, a Wild Plant from South America

Referring to the book Oost-Indische Culture, or East Indies Culture, by Dr.K.W van Gorkom published in 1913, pineapples were only developed and tried to be cultivated in the Dutch East Indies, after 1910 ended. The book explains that the pineapple fruit, which originated in Brazil, was originally a wild exotic fruit that was very dangerous, even known as a "savage" plant.

The pineapple's fresh flavor is a favorite among Europeans. It is usually marketed after being peeled in a certain way, washed and soaked in salt water. When consumed without the proper method, pineapple will give a burning sensation. The greenish-white flesh of the fruit is bitter because it contains bromaline. It is not recommended for people with weak stomachs as it can cause dizziness, vomiting, severe diarrhea, and even deadly for pregnant women.

Despite its dangers, pineapple contains vitamins and various substances that are good for the body. In addition to these benefits, its fresh flavor is much loved by Europeans, having been properly handled before consumption. So botanists found it necessary to cultivate a more "gentle" variety of pineapple.

Cultivated in Bogor

According to Dr. Van Gorkom, the native Brazilian plant is being cultivated in the Indies, which shares the same tropical climate. The cultivation was done to obtain a product that is much more health-friendly and has a sweet and delicious taste, although the handling still remains the same. The pineapple fruit still has to be handled specially before consumption to avoid negative effects.

The fruit plant was cultivated in Java. The Governor-General, then residing in the Palace in the area of the botanical gardens in Buitenzorg, or Bogor today, ordered that part of his yard be used as a trial planting of pineapple seedlings from Brazil. Eventually, the Lands Botanical Garden published a catalog, stating that a pineapple with a delicious, sweet taste had been produced.

Since then, the Vereeniging tot Bevordering van Ooftteelt or fruit plant promotion association reported that the pineapple with superior varieties, having a much better taste than its original region in Brazil, was Bogor Pineapple. The seeds were then spread to other areas in the Dutch East Indies, such as near Bandung, other areas in Java, and the Riau islands.

The fertile tropical soil of the archipelago has different ingredients in each region. This has resulted in many different varieties with different characteristics in each region. Malang produces a very sweet and juicy pineapple, while some areas of Central Java produce a slightly drier but sweeter pineapple. Unlike the Subang pineapple in West Java, which we know today, the honey pineapple is sweet and juicy.

Cikalong Wetan as a Pineapple Plantation Center in West Java

Speaking of pineapples, people will no doubt immediately mention Subang as the only pineapple plantation center in West Java. However, long before Subang was associated as the Pineapple City, it turns out that the Sagalombong area, Mandalamukti Village, Cikalong Wetan District had already become a pineapple producing area in the Priangan region. No wonder there are two pineapple-shaped monuments standing tall in an area that has no pineapple plantation at all.

According to Restu Nugraha, one of the activists in the Mushroom Roots Community, the two monuments seem to be silent witnesses to the glory of pineapples in the area.

"Pineapples used to be a mandatory souvenir when traveling to this region. Pineapple plantations were very extensive until the 1980s. Unfortunately, it (the pineapple plantation) was crushed by the toll road project during President Suharto's era," he said.

Back to the note written by Ir. J. A. Nijholt, in Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie, March 11, 1935. After signing contracts with Maison Bogerijen and various restaurants in Batavia, J.S Fransen is known to have expanded his pineapple plantation in the Purwakarta area in order to produce pineapple juice according to market demand. This record is one proof that Purwakarta and its surrounding areas were once the center of pineapple plantations in the colonial era until the era of the second president of the Republic of Indonesia Suharto.

* Translated from this article by Khumaira Birru Al Walidain.