Chefs Choice

One evening a couple years ago I decided to do a delicious scallop and pineapple kabob dish for dinner. Three scallops on each kabob with a chunk of fresh pineapple, peppers and onions. We grilled them and served them over rice. Matt and I were working and one of our best customers came in for dinner and ordered the scallop and pineapple dish.  I grilled the kabobs and finished them in the oven until the veggies were tender. 3 minutes after they had gone to the table they returned to the kitchen, the guest complained that the scallops were raw. Matt was disappointed in me, confused as to why I had undercooked the scallops. I knew that I had cooked them properly and defended myself. We sent out a new order and once again they were returned to the kitchen. This time Matt was furious. I then remembered that pineapple is used in a lot of marinades because of its high acid content. Matt looked it up and sure enough pineapple has an enzyme that eats away protein. It’s not the acid but the enzyme that had broken down the scallops on the kabobs. Even though they were cooked through, the enzyme had broken the scallop down to almost a mush. Matt went into the dining room and explained our scientific finding to the guest. As always the customers were very kind and simply asked for a new dish. Now we all know that pineapple is more than just a flavorful fruit.