How to cut...a pineapple.

There are several questions i get from parents all the time, one of them is about how I cut the fruit. So I have decided to start documenting the process here. (Be warned: while I may know how to cut fruit, I am not a professional photographer so bear with me on the illustrations.)


Let's start with a PINEAPPLE.

To find out if a pineapple is ripe, tug on one of the leaves in the crown. If it comes off easily then you know it is ripe.

Always start with a good sharp knife and a large cutting board.

Grab all the leaves at the top of the pineapple, or the crown, and twist it off. Rinse the pineapple and lay it flat on a cutting board.
Cut off both ends of the pineapple. Usually only taking about 3/4 inch off each end. Then stand the pineapple up right on the cutting board.

Now you can quarter it by cutting the upright pineapple in half - one way and then the other.
Now comes the part that may take a little practice.
Lay one quarter with one of the cut sides down. Hold the pineapple steady by placing the palm of you non-cutting hand on the skin. Then holding the knife at a 45 degree angle, cut along the length of the pineapple quarter. Thus removing the hard fibrous core. *Don't throw the core away, we'll return to that later.
Now flip the de-cored quarter over so that the skin side is down.
Now slice it. When I am preparing pineapple for snack, here at the center, I would addjust the width of the slices depending on the age of the children I am serving.

*As for the cores, I usually put them in the breakroom for teachers to snack on. You can eat up and down the sides like an ear of corn. But if your really hardcore, you can eat the whole thing.
If you have a juicer, these pieces juice beautifully. You can also freeze them and throw them into soups, beans, or bbq sauce for some added sweetness!