Step 1

Place the pineapple sideways on a cutting board and slice off the top green crown and bottom.

Step 2

Stand the pineapple upright and use a sharp chef's knife to slice away strips of the outer peel/rind. There are two ways to do this, you can either make thin slices (you'll then need to go back and slice away the "eyes" afterward) OR thicker slices, that way remove more flesh, but will remove the eyes too. (Refer to the photos on the blog post.)If you made the thin slices, you'll then need to remove the remaining "eyes". You should be able to see that the "eyes" on the pineapple are in diagonal lines, which will make them easier to remove. Simply line your knife up to one side of a row of 2-4 eyes and slice in a 45-degree angle, then move the knife to the other side of the eyes and repeat. That way, the two slices will meet in the middle (like a V-shaped trench) and you can pull away the fruity flesh with the eyes. Alternatively, you can use a small paring knife to trim each individual eye. This is great for reducing waste but does take more time. Plus, the removed eye flesh can be used to make pineapple skin tea, too!

Step 3

There are several options you have to cut the pineapple (as well as core it) depending on if you want slices, wedges, tiny pieces, etc. Wedges/spears: cut the pineapple into quarters lengthwise and then simply slice the core away (which is the very inner part of each slice and will be visible). You can then slice the pineapple lengthwise to make thinner spears.Chunks/cubes: after following the above, make slices along the length of each quarter/spear as thin or thick as you'd like. You can do this step with or without the pineapple peel still attached.Rings: lay the pineapple on its side and carefully slice the pineapple flesh into rings as thin/thick as you'd like. To core the pineapple rings, I find it easiest to use a small cookie cutter or similar tool (like an icing tip) to simply press into each piece and remove it. Alternatively, you can use a small, sharp knife to slice away the core from each piece, but this will take longer and won't look as clean-cut. The easiest way to do this is to make 5-6 individual slices around the core and then pull it away.

Step 4

This tool does two jobs in one. It removes the core. It also slices through the pineapple and removes it from the skin so you don’t have to peel/chop the flesh at all. Simply chop off the top and bottom of the fruit, stand it upright on your chopping board, place the center of the corer over the pineapple core, and twist it to the bottom of the pineapple. You can then lift and pull it up and release the fruit from the gadget.

Step 5

Roll the pineapple on your kitchen counter. Be firm, but not too firm as you want to break up the various fruits inside to make them easier to pull apart.I'm not sure how helpful it is to do this before removing the crown vs. before and after or just after. So, for the sake of making things easiest for myself, I do both.

Step 6

Remove the pineapple top (crown). You can do this by grabbing it at the base and pulling, though sometimes this can be tricky. Alternatively, use your small knife and, rather than simply chopping all the way around the top, press it in-between the eye going all the way around the pineapple, and it should then be easy to pull apart.You could also chop the entire top off, but then you'll have to deal with removing individual fruits (the eyes) that are cut in half, to begin with, which could make things trickier.

Step 7

You can optionally roll the pineapple over the surface again to loosen the fruit. Then, it's time to pull it apart. Rather than simply pulling on the individual pieces, I've found it easy to push lightly at the base of each eye to separate it from its surrounding pieces and then pull it to remove it.Repeat this step until you've removed as much as you want or have done so with the entire pineapple and enjoy immediately or store for later.

Step 8

Store any open pineapple/pineapple chunks in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 2-3 days. Some leave theirs for up to 5 days, but I find that it can become a stomach irritant after 2 days (3 at most).Note: even in an airtight container, it may start turning brown. To avoid this, you can squeeze a little orange/lemon juice over the pieces before storing them. You can also store the pieces in juice for 3-4 days.To freeze: semi-freeze the pieces until solid in a single layer on a large tray before moving the pieces into an airtight bag/container for storing. Eat within 6-7 months.What about at room temperature? A whole pineapple that's ripe will last about 3 days at room temperature.