DIY Food

How to Slice a Pineapple

May 22, 2013

Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.

Today: The best ways to break down a pineapple, step by step.

Pineapple

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We owe a lot to the first people who stared at the thing we call a pineapple -- those spikes! that skin! that spindly top! -- and figured out that there was some really, really good stuff inside.

Since the gnarly skin and fibrous core have got to go, we've got two ways to tackle our favorite alien-fruit: one that's gadget-free (and yields chunks), and one that uses a pineapple-corer (which yields rounds). Now, go use your pineapple in salads, cocktails, or just eat it plain.

First, rest the pineapple on its side, and lop off the top. We like a good serrated or chef's knife for this process.

Slicing off top

Holding the pineapple upright, drag your knife down the side of the fruit, shearing away the tough skin. Rotate the fruit, repeating until all of the skin is cut off. You can trim out those little prickly brown spots, called eyes, if you want. We're lazy.

Slicing skin  Skin off

Now, you can choose your adventure.

1. If you're going for simple chunks, cut the fruit into quarters, length-wise.

Cutting pineapple  Slicing pineapple

Hold one of the sections upright, and drag your knife down the inner side. This will get rid of the tough, fibrous core. Repeat for all of your sections.

Slicing pineapple

Now, slice your sections into the size cubes of your choice!

 

2. If you're going for whole cored rounds of pineapple, place the skinned fruit back on its side. Slice the pineapple into rounds, as thick as you like.

Slicing into rounds

Using a corer or small cookie cutter, press out the inner core of each round. 

  Press out core

What's your favorite way to cook with pineapple? Let us know in the comments!

Photos by James Ransom

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Gret
    Gret
  • Courtney Dredden
    Courtney Dredden
  • mooleeadie
    mooleeadie
  • Zensister
    Zensister
  • mrslarkin
    mrslarkin
Brette Warshaw

Written by: Brette Warshaw

I'm a reader, eater, culinary thrill-seeker, and food nerd.

18 Comments

Gret May 23, 2013
I'm surprised you don't suggest the diagonal eye removal - quite easy & fast. Besides grilled (doesn't need any sugar), chunks are great in chicken stir fry>
 
Courtney D. May 23, 2013
I love grilled pineapple, pineapple in salad, fresh pineapple...I love it all! However, my favorite way to slice a pineapple is to use the pineapple slicer I bought from Amazon :) Saves a ton of time!
 
mooleeadie May 23, 2013
Side effect of leaving the pesky eyes intact: sore mouth, a bit of insight from my grandmother when I was a child (and I'm a grandmother now). I do the diagonal removal suggested by Moe Rubenzahl, and really enjoy the beautiful patterns within the fruit. Try it, Zensister, I bet your mouth doesn't react.
 
Zensister May 26, 2013
I think I'm sensitive to the same enzymes that give me such nice hands after prepping, but eye removal is worth a try. It would be nice to eat more than a few bites in one sitting. Thanks for the tip!
 
Zensister May 23, 2013
Unexpected side effect of prepping your own pineapple- the enzymes leave your hands super soft! I can eat very little fresh pineapple without my mouth reacting, so I usually brush grill it and eat it with a drizzle of rum and a sprinkle of brown sugar.
 
Zensister May 23, 2013
Too fast! Brush with a little neutral oil or coconut oil...
 
mrslarkin May 22, 2013
Yum! I love pineapple any which way, but especially drizzled with my Balsamic Butterscotch Sauce!
 
Moe R. May 22, 2013
Oh, and the eyes -- I leave them there, as they're not a big deal but if you don't like 'em and don't want to waste fruit by taking away more of the outside, you can remove the eyes by making a v-groove. The eyes are in a diagonal pattern -- carve your v-groove in a spiral from one end of the fruit to the other. You will need about a dozen spirals. Takes a little while but faster them digging each one out individually.
 
Moe R. May 22, 2013
I use a boning knife for fruit disassembly. Boning knives are thin, designed to be maneuvered around curves. Which makes them good for carving up curved fruit.
 
Panfusine May 22, 2013
I usually sprinkle on a mix of salt, pepper & toasted cumin over my pineapple slices. Most 'fruit plate' vendors in India used to sell it that way
 
Brette W. May 22, 2013
Sounds amazing!
 
scouse May 22, 2013
Fried pineapple on a burger or pizza...
 
dymnyno May 22, 2013
Yes! I love pineapple on pizza, too.
 
dymnyno May 22, 2013
I love pineapple slices slathered with brown sugar, rum and shredded coconut and then grilled. Sometimes very small pineapples(individual sized serving) can be found and they make a beautiful dessert when prepared like this. (Darn! Maybe I should have entered this one!)
 
Ann-Marie D. May 22, 2013
The only difficult part of cutting a pineapple you did not cover - cutting out the dark "eyes." My mom would advise to cut them out at an angle, turn the pineapple, cut them out at an angle.
 
Panfusine May 22, 2013
One of my favorite kitchen pastimes, prepping pineapples.. thank you brette..
PS: if you're interested in a tutorial on prepping the Mother of all difficult fruit, (A.K.A the Jackfruit), lemme know!
 
Marian B. May 22, 2013
I ate Jackfruit chips in India and became seriously addicted for about a week. So good!
 
Panfusine May 22, 2013
OOH yeah, they're a fabulous treat!