Pineapple tart is a small, bite-size tart filled or topped with

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

jam, commonly found throughout different parts of Southeast Asia such as

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

(''kue nastar''),

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

(

Baba Malay In addition to its classical and literary form, Malay had various regional dialects established after the rise of the Srivijaya empire in Sumatra, Indonesia. Also, Malay spread through interethnic contact and trade across the Malay Archi ...

: ''kueh tae'' or ''kuih tair'',

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...

: ''kuih tat nanas''),

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

in various forms. The pineapple tart may have been invented in the 16th century. This is around the time the pineapple, a fruit native to South America, was introduced to Asia and the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...

by Portuguese merchants.

General description

The pastry consists of a large proportion of

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condim ...

and

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example be ...

, and some

corn starch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or sou ...

, giving it a rich, buttery, tender and melt-in-the-mouth texture. The pineapple jam is usually making a slow reduction of grated fresh pineapple that is caramelized with a mix of sugar and spices, usually

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

star anise ''Illicium verum'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. A spice commonly called star anise, staranise, star anise seed, star aniseed, star of anise, Chinese star anise, or badian that closely resemb ...

and

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

s. Typical shapes include a flat, open tart topped with pineapple jam under a lattice of pastry, rolls filled with jam that are open at the ends, and jam-filled spheres or elongated shapes.

Regions

Indonesia

, it is called ''nastar'' which is contraction of ''nanas tart'' (''

Ananas ''Ananas'' is a plant genus in the family Bromeliaceae. It is native to South America. The genus contains ''Ananas comosus'', the pineapple. Species The genus ''Ananas'' includes only two species: Gallery File:Pineapple.plantation.jpg, Pine ...

'' or pineapple tart), is a popular cookie or '' kue kering'' during festive occasions of '' Lebaran'', '' Natal'' and '' Imlek''. Just like many of Indonesian '' kue kering'' (cookies), its origin comes from the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

influence on Indonesian pastry, cake and cookies tradition. Most ''nastar'' is made as a round shape with a diameter of about 2 cm. The pineapple jam is filled inside instead of spread on top.

Malaysia and Singapore

Julia's Pineapple Tarts and Green Tea Longue de Chat

Considered a "festive cookie", pineapple tarts are especially popular during Hari Raya,

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...

and

Deepavali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...

celebrations in Singapore and Malaysia. They are also sold all year round by commercial bakeries and souvenir stores serving tourists.

Taiwan

The Taiwanese version of pineapple tart is known as ''fènglísū'' (鳳梨酥). The filling is fully enclosed within a rectangular tart. Generally the taste is sweet due to sugar added. However, many bakers add or even substitute pineapple with

winter melon ''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the o ...

to make the jam less tart as well giving a less fibrous texture to the filling.

Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

the term often refers to a variation on the

Neenish Tart A neenish tart (or neenish cake) is a tart made with a pastry base and a filling consisting of sweet gelatine-set cream, mock cream, icing sugar paste, or lemon and sweetened condensed milk mixture, with dried icing on the top of the tart in ...

, with pineapple jam below the filling, and

passionfruit ''Passiflora edulis,'' commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy ...

icing.

References

{{Pineapples Tarts Indonesian cuisine Malaysian cuisine Singaporean cuisine Bruneian cuisine Holiday foods Kue Stuffed desserts Foods with jam