Don’t be intimidated by the prickly fresh pineapple! You can learn how to cut a pineapple the easy way. You only need a sharp knife and a cutting board — no fancy gadgets needed!
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Fresh pineapple is really so much more delicious than canned or frozen pineapple. The flavor is so much sweeter, and the texture is perfect for all kinds of pineapple recipes.
While some would argue that you need to be in the tropics to enjoy truly great pineapple, you can find some great fruit stateside.
I love grabbing a fresh pineapple on sale at ALDI. They are almost always ready to eat and are a great fruit for snacking, including in salads, or adding to savory dinner recipes, like this BBQ Chicken Pizza.
Why Learn This
It’s delicious! A fresh pineapple with its intoxicating scent and sweet-tart flavor can be a delicious treat. Fresh pineapple spears are delicious to include in a fruit tray or dipped in Crockpot Chocolate Fondue while pineapple chunks are super tasty in fruit salad.
You can have it all once you learn how to cut a pineapple yourself!
It’s easy. Learn the easy way to cut a pineapple. It takes just minutes. Once you master this knife skill, you’ll be able to cut melon and grapefruit sections as well.
You can save money. Fresh cut pineapple in the produce section always costs more than a whole pineapple. Once you learn to cut it yourself, you can enjoy fresh pineapple chunks and spears more often and for less money.
What You Need
All you need is a whole pineapple, a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a sheet pan to catch the juices. I also like to have some white vinegar to wash surface bacteria off the pineapple.
Look for pineapple on sale (around $2) so that you can enjoy it to the fullest — and often.
Step-by-step Instructions
1. Wash the pineapple.
Rinse the outside of the pineapple with water and white vinegar. Even though you aren’t going to eat the peel, you are going to cut through it, thereby possibly exposing the inner flesh to bacteria and other germs.
By washing the surface, you reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
2. Make it stable.
Cut off the two ends and stand the pineapple upright on one end. In this way, the pineapple will be stable on your cutting surface, not wobbling all over the place.
3. Cut away the rind.
With a chef’s knife, cut away the rind or skin, curving your cuts between the rind and flesh, thusly. Proceed around the sides of the pineapple until all the rind is removed. You may need to turn the pineapple upside down in order to get all the bits all around.
You may see that the prickles or eyes of the pineapple go fairly deep. You can cut these away individually so that you can preserve the fruit in between.
4. Cut away and remove the core.
Now cut through the pineapple, just to the side of the hard, inner core. Cut all the way down.
Continue cutting around the core until you have several long wedges of pineapple. Discard the core.
5. Cut up the pineapple for serving.
Slice the wedges into spears or small pieces or chunks to serve fresh or use in recipes.
Which way should you cut it?
Spears are great for fruit trays and for grilling, while chunks are best for salads, with smaller chunks being good for a dish like Slow Cooked Sweet and Sour Meatballs or for adding to pizza.
Storage
Store cut pineapple in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze the pineapple in airtight containers to use later. If you’d like to freeze them to use just a handful of chunks at a time, be sure to follow this method of freezing individual fruits.
FAQs
You can find pineapples year-round, but their peak season is from March to July.
Pineapples don’t get sweeter once picked, so they’re best picked ripe. That’s why you’re going to find sweeter and better pineapples in Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Mexico; they can stay on the plant longer.
Select pineapples that give a little and that have full, strong color, and no green. The leaves should be crisp and green without any yellowing on the tops. Too ripe pineapples will be dark and soft.
More Knife Skills to Learn
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The Easy Way to Cut a Pineapple
Equipment
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- heavy duty sheet pan
- spray bottle
Ingredients
- 1 pineapple
- white vinegar for rinsing the pineapple
Instructions
- Place your cutting board onto a cookie sheet. This will help catch any juices so they don’t run all over your cutting board.
- Rinse the outside. Wash the outside of the pineapple with a little bit of vinegar and water so you can kill off any germs and bacteria before you cut into the fruit.
- Cut off the ends of the pineapple.
- Once you've cut off both ends, stand up the pineapple on one end. You want it to stand firmly with no risk of rocking and rolling.
- Cut away the rind from around the sides of the pineapple With a chef’s knife, cut away the rind, curving your cuts between the rind and flesh, around the shape of the fruit. Proceed around the sides of the pineapple until all the rind is removed. Trim away any prickly bits you might have missed.
- Cut into the pineapple diagonally from the top to the bottom, alongside the core.
- Work all the way around the core, cut away wedges of pineapple. Cut the wedges into spears, slices, or cubes.
- Serve the cut pineapple immediately or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Place your cutting board onto a cookie sheet. This will help catch any juices so they don’t run all over your cutting board.
- Rinse the outside. Wash the outside of the pineapple with a little bit of vinegar and water so you can kill off any germs and bacteria before you cut into the fruit.
- Stand it up. You want to cut off both ends and stand it up so it doesn’t rock and roll around on you potentially risking injury.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 23, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Barbara
Thank you, thank you! I’ve been visiting your blog for years and always enjoy learning from you, and often come back to revisit a certain post!
Jessica Fisher
Thanks so much for your kind words, Barbara!
Leslie
You can also regrow a pineapple from its top! Watch this before cutting it up — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN5oBw4EGj8
Jessica Fisher
That is amazing! thanks!
Janet
This is one of the jobs in the kitchen where a good quality, sharp knife is essential. I always ask my husband to sharpen my knife before and after I prep a pineapple.
Jessica Fisher
True!
Baylee
I love pineapple! I never bought it because I didn’t know how to slice it until my 14 year daughter told me to google it! Glad I did!
Sam's Minions (aka parents- Angie and Brian)
Fresh pineapple just tastes better. Period.
Anonymous
I've never heard of it that cheap, $1.99 was insanely cheap for us this year! But, I pretty much only eat it when I can get it fresh because I learned the canning process kills many of the helpful enzymes, so why buy canned, ya know? -Amanda Y.
Chef Dennis
Great advice on cleaning your pineapple as well as melons….too many people have no idea about all the bacteria you can have on the outside of the fruit! my wifes favorite way to use pineapple is to grill it!
Cheers
Dennis
Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet
Fresh pineapple is awesome! 😀 I buy both canned and fresh, but fresh tastes sooooo much better!
3LittleMonkeys
I love fresh pineapple. I buy one every week! I cut it the exact same way you do…good to know I'm doing it right! Just one thing….I wish it would last longer in the fridge once it's cut! I find I have to eat it fast before it starts to get sour…
Shirley
Does it need refrigeration before cutting?
Jessica Fisher
Not while it’s ripening. Once it’s ripe, refrigerate.
Tricia @ This Happy Home
Oh, and I also read an idea on someone's blog (I wish I could remember where!) to put pineapple core into water. Let it sit for a few hours to a day. It tastes SO good!!
Tricia @ This Happy Home
Great price!!
We buy fresh because we live in Hawaii and it seems rather scandalous to buy canned when you can get fresh out of the field from roadside stands. LOL
For anyone interested, Dole Plantation shows another way to cut pineapple on their website:
http://www.dole-plantation.com/Cutting The pineapple boat they show is a very cute way to serve fresh fruit salad.
Anonymous
WOW! What a great deal on pineapple. Up here in Michigan I saw it "on sale" for $4.99 last week.
Paul & Carla
I buy both. Reeeeeeally good fresh is unbeatable. I love it all alone and I love it made into simple pineapple desserts. I also use canned year round in multiple applications from salads to muffins to cakes. It's extremely versatile.
Anonymous
We love to buy fresh pineapple. We live in Moorhead MN so we don't have the best produce but when pineapple is good and on sale its about 1.98 The family flocks to the kitchen asking when its going to be sliced. During the winter we do buy chunks.
Thank you! Stephanie
Maria and Michelle
Thanks! I have a fresh pineapple on the fridge that I got a great deal on at Costco. Figured I'd give it a try and now I'm confident I can do it. Perfect timing!
~ Michelle @ FTSN