Pineappleweed. If you haven’t ever encountered it, you can probably already guess what is significant about it. This particular weed is closely related to chamomile and yet, when crushed, it gives off a potent smell of pineapple. What a delightful thing to find in a little herb that grows on trail edges.

This plant has been on my list for a long time, and I just never found it until recently. I don’t often venture far when foraging (~99% of our foraging happens within 3 miles of home). We just go for a walk and see what’s out there. It is really cool to get to know the area around your home and watch all the edible plants come and go throughout the year, but we definitely miss out on things that just don’t grow in our neighborhood. But then you stumble on a plant that you’ve been looking for and you can’t help but be excited.⁠

Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea), also called wild chamomile and disc mayweed, is an annual plant native to Asia, but which now grows in most of the US (with the exclusion of the southeast). Like many “weeds,” it likes disturbed areas and compacted soils. If you keep your eyes to the ground when you walk (a habit of mine since childhood), you will stumble on some eventually.⁠

The flowers look a lot like chamomile, but without the white petals. When crushed, they give off an aroma of both chamomile and the pineapple from which they took their name.⁠ While the height of the plant seems to vary quite a bit, it has the feathery leaves of chamomile as well as similar flowers. But the pineapple scent alone is probably all you need to positively ID beyond the basic gestalt of the plant.

Predictably, given its close relation to chamomile, pineappleweed makes an excellent tea. But pineapple is not a common flavor in forageables, so I decided to go straight for my favorite way to use pineapple: those cheesy tiki bar cocktails.

This post is absolutely stacked with recipes–a clear indication of both my excitement about finally finding pineappleweed and my love of a good cocktail. And let me tell you, these are good. If you have a patch of pineappleweed that you can pull from, put up a liter or two of this liqueur–you will definitely want it. I blew through my first batch in a weekend and immediately set out to make more.

Pineappleweed Liqueur

Ingredients:
¼ cup pineappleweed tops
12 oz. vodka
½ cup simple syrup

Directions:
Steep the pineappleweed tops in the vodka for two weeks. After properly aged, strain the infused vodka and discard the solids. Mix the 12 oz. vodka with 4 oz. simple syrup. And voila, pineappleweed liqueur. Produces 16 oz. at about 30% abv.

Consider making a double batch (or triple, or quadruple), because you’ll probably go through this stuff faster than you think.

Pineappleweed-a colada:

The classic frozen drink, with the exception that this one has a little more booze, seeing as the pineapple juice has been replaced with liqueur. Best enjoyed on a tropical beach, but won’t do you wrong on any hot summer day.

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. white rum
3 oz. pineappleweed liqueur
3 oz. coconut cream (not coconut milk)
ice

Directions:
Pour all ingredients into the blender. Add around 1 tray of ice cubes. Blend until smooth.

Garnish with two maraschino cherries on a cocktail umbrella.

Don’t use a carton of coconut milk or a can of coconut milk. What you need is coconut cream. Coconut cream can be purchased at the liquor store for around $6 here. Alternatively, and this is what I did after my first mistake, you can just scoop the cream from the top of a can of coconut milk. It takes strong and delicious and mixes better than a shaken can of coconut milk.

Pineappleweed-a colada martini:

A boozier alternative to the classic pina colada. With half the juice replaced with liqueur, it only made sense to try it as a martini–and it is good. All the same flavors you love from the frozen drink served up in a classy cocktail.

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. white rum
1.5 oz. pineappleweed liqueur
1.5 oz. coconut cream

Directions:
Shake all ingredients with ice and serve up in a martini glass.

Garnish with a couple of cherries or a piece of pineapple (preferably on an umbrella).

Painkiller:

The painkiller is a drink that originated in the British Virgin Islands. The standout characteristic is that it is garnished with nutmeg, which gives it a very interesting flavor. Somewhere between a pina colada and an eggnog, this is a really spectacular tropical beverage that I didn’t think that I would like the first time I drank one in the Virgin Islands. Then I immediately had three more.

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. white rum
1.5 oz. pineappleweed liqueur
1.5 oz. orange juice
1.5 oz. coconut cream
Nutmeg

Directions:
Pour the liquids over ice, give them a good stir, and garnish with a solid dusting of nutmeg.

Blue Hawaiian:

How can one resist such a vibrantly colored drink? This one really stands out, even at the tiki bar. Simple to make and quite tasty, it is hard to believe all that blue comes from just half a shot of blue curacao.

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. white rum
1.5 oz. pineappleweed liqueur
.75 oz. coconut cream
.75 oz. blue curacao

Directions:
Shake with ice and pour into a showy glass with plenty of ice. This one begs to be shown off, so make sure you pick a nice glass. And definitely throw an umbrella with a couple cherries or another contrastingly colored piece of fruit up there.

Now, with all those cocktails on offer, I know you can’t resist getting out there and finding yourself some pineappleweed. Good foraging!