How to Cut a Pineapple

Guide Note

The prospect of cutting a pineapple might seem daunting, but it's easy once you break it down step-by-step. If you want to prepare and enjoy fresh pineapple more often, read this page!

Table of Contents

Pineapple Cutting Tips

  1. Choose a ripe pineapple.
  2. Use a serrated knife to slice through the pineapple's skin.
  3. Make sure to remove the brown knobs from the pineapple's skin before eating.

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Introduction

(Photo by Carly Schuna)
(Photo by Carly Schuna)
  • The sweet, zingy taste of fresh pineapple puts the tinny, canned taste to shame, but the formidable look of a fresh pineapple with its spike-covered skin is enough to turn many people away. Learn to tame the pineapple with this simple cutting tutorial.
  • You don't need a lot of fancy equipment to cut a pineapple, but a few things are helpful; aside from the pineapple, you'll need a cutting board, a serrated knife and a vegetable peeler.

Choosing a Pineapple

(Photo by Carly Schuna)
(Photo by Carly Schuna)
  • When you go shopping, you'll want to pick a pineapple that is fresh, firm and ripe. One way to find a good, ripe pineapple is by trying to pluck out one of the middle leaves.1 If the leaf comes out easily, the pineapple is ripe.
  • Another good way to judge a pineapple's ripeness is to smell it.2 The scent should be strong, fresh and just a little sweet. If it smells fermented or seems to have soft or dark spots, abandon it in search of another pineapple.

Step 1: Preparing the Pineapple

(Photo by Carly Schuna)
(Photo by Carly Schuna)
  • Before you slice your pineapple, you'll need to remove the top and bottom. Twisting off the leaves at the top is fine, but if you think you might want to use the top part of the pineapple as decoration for a fruit tray or another centerpiece, slice off the leaves and the top of the pineapple by cutting about an inch down into the top part of the flesh.3
  1. Lay the pineapple on its side. Slice off the top of the pineapple using one of the two methods above. If you choose to twist off the leaves, make sure to also cut about an inch off the top of the pineapple.1
  2. Keeping the pineapple on its side, slice off the bottom by cutting all the way through about an inch from the base of the fruit.
  3. Unless you're using the top for decoration, you can discard both these pieces of the pineapple.

Step 2: Skinning the Pineapple

(Photo by Carly Schuna)
(Photo by Carly Schuna)
  • Now you'll need to remove the pineapple's spiky skin.
  1. Set the pineapple upright on its flat base. Using the serrated knife, cut off segments of the pineapple skin from top to bottom.4
  2. When doing this, it's important to leave the greatest amount of flesh possible on the pineapple, so try not to slice off too much fruit along with the skin.
  3. If there are any stray bits of skin left when you're finished slicing, cut them off with the knife.

Step 3: Removing the Knobs

(Photo by Carly Schuna)
(Photo by Carly Schuna)
  • Those knobbly brown spots on the pineapple aren't very good to eat, so you'll want to get rid of them before you finish cutting up the fruit.
  1. If you don't have a vegetable peeler handy, one way to remove the knobs is by cutting V-shaped indentations in the pineapple.5 The pineapple's skin won't be very smooth if you choose that method, but it is a good way to get rid of all the rough spots.4
  2. The easiest way to remove the brown knobs and keep the pineapple smooth is by using a vegetable peeler.2 With the top of the peeler, gouge out each knob carefully.1 You should be able to twist out the knobs without too much resistance.
  3. After you've completed this step, all the rest of the pineapple is edible.

Step 4: Slicing the Pineapple

(Photo by Carly Schuna)
(Photo by Carly Schuna)
  • At this point, you have a choice to either slice the pineapple into rings or chunks.3
  • For rings:
  1. Lay the pineapple on its side, and slice it into circular segments that are about one inch thick.
  2. You will remove the core of each segment in the next step.
  • For chunks:
  1. To cut the pineapple into chunks, set it upright on its base. Slice it in half from top to bottom, then cut both halves into halves. You will have quartered the pineapple.2
  2. Read the next step to learn how to core each quarter of the pineapple.

Step 5: Coring the Pineapple

(Photo by Carly Schuna)
(Photo by Carly Schuna)
  • The coring method varies depending on whether you would like your pineapple in rings or chunks.
  • For rings:
  1. Use your knife to cut out the center circle in each ring.6 The center core is edible, but most people prefer not to eat it because of its tough, stringy texture.
  2. Repeat the coring with each circular segment until you have sliced the whole pineapple into rings.
  • For chunks:
  1. Remove the pineapple core by setting each quarter upright and slicing off the core from top to bottom.7
  2. Repeat with each quarter until all the quarters have been cored.
  3. Lay the quarters on their sides, and slice the pineapple into chunks of any size.

Step 6: Finish and Enjoy

  1. Once you've finished cutting up your pineapple, you can serve it immediately or store it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.
  2. If you put it in the fridge, make sure to keep it in an airtight container.8 It will stay fresh for up to a week.

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References for How to Cut a Pineapple

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 MetaCafe: How to Cut a Pineapple
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 About.com: How to Cut a Pineapple
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chew on That: How to Cut a Pineapple
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ma'ona: How to Cut Pineapple Like a Local
  5. ↑ wikiHow: How to Cut a Pineapple
  6. ↑ Start Cooking: How to Cut a Pineapple
  7. ↑ eHow: How to Cut a Pineapple
  8. ↑ Dole: Products