How to Cut a Pineapple

How to cut a pineapple: Three easy ways to deal with prickly pineapples.

A friend recently told me that she is afraid of pineapples.

“Afraid?” I questioned.

She then went into great detail describing her pineapple woes… getting pricked by the spiky leaves, not completely cutting off the “eyes” so the fruit felt bristly in her mouth, not knowing what to do about the core, and so on. She finished with the statement, “If the grocery store is out of pre-cut pineapples, I’m out of luck, because I won’t buy one that’s staring me down.”

It made me wonder who else might be afraid of pineapples. Anyone?

Consider yourself in pineapple samurai training today and I am your ninja master.

You can do it, little lotus flower.

How to Cut a Pineapple

Start by choosing a symmetrical pineapple with “eyes” that are evenly sized. The more yellow the eyes, the riper the pineapple.

Cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple so you have an even cylinder.

Now you have several methods to consider.

If you want small pineapple pieces for salads and snacking, cut the pineapple into quarters lengthwise. Then slice of the tip off each section. This removes the tough fibrous core.

Lay the pineapple section down and cut inward, about 1/3 – 1/2 inch above the eyes. Do this on both sides to separate the fruit from the skin.

Slice into sections and enjoy!

If you want pineapple rings….

Shave the skin off the pineapple, by cutting in 1/3 – 1/2 inch to remove all eyes. Rotate the pineapple and repeat around the entire pineapple.

Then slice the pineapple into rings.

To remove the core, use a spoon to cut out the middle, or use an apple corer.

How to Cut a Pineapple Option 3… buy a cool pineapple coring tool!

OXO makes this one and it works like a charm. After you cut off the top, simply screw the pineapple tool down over the core. Stop when you get close to the bottom.

Then lift the whole fruit center out, like this.

Just think of all the uses for the empty pineapple. I’m imagining giant pina coladas…

Then remove the bottom of the tool and the pineapple rings slide right off! Neat, right?

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