A pineapple bun () is a kind of sweet bun predominantly popular in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and also common in

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

s worldwide. Despite the name, it does not traditionally contain

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, 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 culti ...

; rather, the name refers to the look of the characteristic topping (which resembles the texture of a pineapple).

History

The origin of the pineapple bun is unclear. According to Tse Ching-yuen, current owner of Tai Tung in Hong Kong, this bakery was making pineapple buns when it opened in 1943. At the time, they were called 酥皮包 (crispy-skin buns), but customers kept calling them pineapple buns. By another account, the Ng family was deported from Mexico to Hong Kong and opened a restaurant there in 1946. They slightly adapted the concha to the local palate, creating the pineapple bun. The earliest documented evidence of the pineapple bun can be traced back to Hong Kong in 1942. It was during this time that the Tai Tung Bakery first opened its doors to the public. The shop owner, Tse Ching-yuen, recalls that he has been making pineapple buns since he was just 11 years old. However, he acknowledges that there were similar baked goods in Japan before that period. In June 2014, the

government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

listed the pineapple bun as a part of

's intangible cultural heritage. Tai Tung Bakery in Yuen Long, which had been making pineapple buns for more than 70 years, was a key proponent of including the technique for making the buns on the list of 480 items of living heritage.

Composition

The top of the pineapple bun (the part which is made to resemble a pineapple) is made of a dough similar to that used to make sugar cookies, which consists of sugar, eggs, flour, and

lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

. It is crunchy and is quite sweet compared to the bread underneath. The bread dough underneath is that which is used in Hong Kong–style breads, which is a softer and sweeter dough than in European breads. It is popular at breakfast or afternoon tea. Although it is known as a "pineapple bun", the traditional version contains no pineapple. The name originated from the fact that its sugary top crust is cooked to a golden-brown colour, and because its checkered top resembles the skin of a pineapple.

Buttered variant

Many Hong Kong restaurants, such as ''

cha chaan teng ''Cha chaan teng'' ( zh, t=茶餐廳, cy=chàhchāantēng, l=tea restaurant), often called a Hong Kong-style cafe or diner in English, is a type of restaurant that originated in Hong Kong. ''Cha chaan tengs'' are commonly found in Hong Kong, Ma ...

s'' and ''

dai pai dong ''Dai pai dong'' () is a type of open-air food stall. The term originates from Hong Kong but has been adopted outside Hong Kong as well. The official government name for these establishments is "cooked-food stalls", while the more common name ...

s'', offer an item called a buttered pineapple bun, which is a pineapple bun with a slice of

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

stuffed inside. They are known in Cantonese as ''boh loh yau'' (菠蘿油), in which ''boh loh'' means "pineapple", and ''yau'' (oil) refers to butter. Variants of this include using

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

in place of butter. Typically the bun is brought hot from the oven to the diner's table, and served halved with a large slab of butter in between the halves.

Other common variants

The pineapple bun may come in miniature sizes, it may be used as a bread roll for sandwiches with luncheon meat, or it may be pre-stuffed with

red bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or ...

cream (奶黃), barbecued pork, or a sweet filling of shredded coconut (椰絲) like that in a cocktail bun. It is possible to order a "pineapple pineapple bun", actually stuffed with pineapple. Japanese

melonpan , also called melon bun or melon bread, is a Japanese Sweet roll, sweetbun covered in a layer of crispy cookie dough. The texture resembles that of a melon, such as a cantaloupe. It is not traditionally melon-flavored. Melonpan and pineapple b ...

and Korean soboro bread are variants that use the same ingredients for a German

streusel In baking and pastry making, streusel () is a crumbly topping of flour, butter, and sugar that is baked on top of muffins, breads, pies, and cakes.

-like texture on top but without resemblance to a pineapple.

Controversy

In October 2020, a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese bakery ''c'est très fou'' launched the product "Taiwanese pineapple bun", which received criticism for suggesting the product originated in Taiwan, though the bakery's introduction of the product had correctly mentioned that the bun originated in Hong Kong. In January 2021, another Japanese bakery was criticized for calling it "Taiwan pineapple bun".

References

External links

{{Hong Kong bread Dim sum Sweet breads Macanese cuisine Buns Hong Kong breads Stuffed dishes