How to Cut Up a Whole Pineapple Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

Lay one quarter on the cutting board like a wedge. Cut into the wedge at an angle to slice out the tough inner core.

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We love the sweet-sour taste of pineapple just about anytime, but it has particular appeal during the dog days of winter. You can buy pre-cut pineapple from the store, but it's fresher and more economical to buy a whole one and cut it yourself. Here's the way we do it.

Pick a pineapple that has evenly shaped "eyes" on the skin. Look for ones that are mostly yellow — we've found that the more yellow they are, the sweeter they are. Completely green pineapples are under-ripe. You can also tell if a pineapple is ripe if it has a sweet smell near the base and if the fronds on top are easy to pull out.

How to Slice a Pineapple

Makes about 5 cups chopped pineapple

What You Need

Ingredients
1 ripe pineapple

Equipment
Cutting board
Sharp knife

Instructions

1. Cut off the top and bottom. Lay the pineapple on its side and slice off the top and bottom of the fruit. This gets rid of the big spiky fronds and creates a stable cutting base.

2. Trim off the rind. Set the pineapple upright. Work your way around the pineapple, cutting off the rind in strips. Cut deep enough to remove the "eyes," but save as much of the flesh as possible. After you're done, trim off any eyes or bits of rind you may have missed.

3. Slice the pineapple in half. With the pineapple still upright, slice it straight down the middle into halves.

4. Slice the pineapple into quarters. Lay each half cut-side down on your cutting board and slice them in half again to make four quarters.

5. Trim out the core. Lay one quarter on the cutting board like a wedge. Cut into the wedge at an angle to slice out the tough inner core. Repeat with the remaining quarters.

6. Slice into bite-sized pieces. Divide each quarter into two or three strips and then dice into bite-sized pieces. (Or if you prefer larger pieces, leave the quarter intact and slice the pineapple into pieces.)

7. Storing pineapple. Store sliced pineapple in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator.

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(Images: Emma Christensen)

Comments (19)

Call me lazy, or call me a lover of cool gadgets, but the Vacu vin Pineapple corer is A-MAZING!
http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-Pineapple-Easy-Slicer/dp/B00005AS57

Sure, it wastes a bit of pineapple if you get a wider pina, but you end up with plenty of fresh pineapple juice after you're done twisting AND a handy bowl to put salsa in.

I use a spiral cut technique when preparing pineapple. I make shallower cuts removing the skin and leaving the eyes on the fruit. I then make a series of V cuts along the surface of the pineapple removing the eyes. It is very beautiful when it is done. A little more work but I find the sweetest part of the fruit is the part that is cut away when using a normal slicing technique.

I do it the same way except that I leave the leafy part for last using it as a handle while I'm cutting off the sides.

I use the same spiral technique as Comicgeek to remove the eyes. A friend said it's a typically east Asian technique.

The tough, inner core that most people throw out is my most favorite part of the pineapple.

My mother is from a small coastal town in Central America that prides itself on its pineapples. My grandmother would always say that you could tell a townsperson by the way they cut the pineapple: holding it by the stem/leafy bit and taking a machete to the rest of it. Needless, to say few of us have a machete laying around in our kitchen these days, but I, like sally599 and my grandmother, find it useful to leave the stem 'til last. It makes for a good handle.

Martha Stewart has a quick method to remove the top. Grab the stem by the neck and twist the top off. It comes off like a dream leaving only a shallow dent in the pineapple. It's much easier twisting the top than cutting it off.

My mom saves the cores to use in smooties. It gives pineapple taste and provides fiber and texture.

A fun thing to do after the pineapple has been eaten is to plant the crown in a pot or the garden. In the garden (with plenty of space) you'll get yourself a new pineapple after a lengthy wait. Inside it isn't guaranteed but it will make an interesting house plant.

Ah cutting a pineapple. Something every 10 year old caribbean boy knows how to do.

Once the rind is removed, shouldn't steps be taken to minimize transfer of pesticides, etc. from the rind to the fruit? At that point I rinse the pineapple and use a clean knife and cutting board.

Here's a demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GViaOUTC3rY

One of the tips taught at some of the pineapple farms on Maui involves twisting off the stem, then leaving the fruit upside down for a day to let the juices redistribute. A pineapple grows on the ground for a couple of years, so gravity takes its toll! A much juicier pineapple results- yum!

I've been snacking on fresh pineapple at work the last couple days. SO delicious! I use the same cutting technique. http://wp.me/p2FRFd-4I

I use the spiral cut technique and I found that using the strawberry huller (with the prongs that come out when you press the plunger) is great for removing any stray eyes.

The thai way of cutting a pineapple saves on more fruit and looks cooler. The way you described how to cut the pineapple is the normal way...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM12_DHt6v4

I learned the spriral cutting method when I lived in the Philippines for two years, and now that I live in Finland it's an excellent party trick! It looks cooler and saves fruit, but anyway you slice it nothing beats fresh pineapple.

I lived near a pineapple-growing area in Kenya and, as morphomercedes describes, the market guys would use the leaves as a handy handle, and a machete (called a panga in Swahili) to whack off the skin/eyes and chop it into clever wedges that were just right for a quick snack while shopping at the outdoor market.
Hack off the bottom first, then stand it on the now-flat bottom and slice down the sides. Then it's super easy to turn it on its side and cut rounds from the bottom up.

Also, I find it much easier to cut a pineapple with a long bread knife than with a chef's knife.