Friday, June 26, 2009

how to cut a pineapple

I have been intimidated by the whole pineapple for years. Just look at it. I love fruit, but it is the fruit equivalent of the porcupine. No matter how sweet it might be inside getting past that prickly exterior looks, frankly, like too much work. After all, they have it in those easily accessible cans. I can pick if I want it sliced, diced, or crushed. So why bother with all that struggle? Well, the answer is simple - because it is so worth it! And, it really isn't that hard. Let me break it down for you.



If you have a manly man in the house, like my carnivore, you may even be able to get them to do the hard work for you. Just tell them it involves using a big knife. That usually works for me. And, this is my second tip - get a big, sharp knife. If you don't have one you are going to a lot more work than you need to. Once you have an appropriate knife, start by removing the top. It is pretty, so you might want to save it for garnish or as part of a centerpiece. Otherwise, it is pretty much useless and you can just toss it.

Next slice off the sides. Go just deep enough to remove the outer layer, careful not to remove too much of the fruit inside. You may have a few spots of the skin you will have to go back and remove. That's fine. Take those off with a smaller knife if needed.






Then lay the pineapple on its side and slice off the ends. Next cut through the fruit all the way through in nice thick slices.






Now that you have the fruit, you can remove the core if you want to as it can be a little tough. You can of course, just eat around it too. If you do decide to core it, use a smaller knife and cut small circles out of the center of each piece. You can also dice it at this time if you are looking for diced pieces. And, look you just cut your own pineapple! See, I told you it wasn't that hard.




There are some many things you can do with fresh pineapple. You can add it to drinks, put it on pizza, or bake it in desserts. This night the carnivore and I decided to grill ours. The heat brings out the sweet juices even more. Remember, since it is fruit it doesn't have to be grilled for very long. So just through it on the grill towards the end of cooking long enough to get some good grill marks on each side. Then enjoy!

menu ideas:
As you know I am all about fruit on the dinner plate, so this pineapple is great with either grilled chicken or a veggie burger. Serve it with some onion rings and you meal is complete! You can also add it to fruit salad for a bikini friendly dessert.

6 comments:

  1. What an informative and great article - really love the photo too!! Thank you!

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  2. Oh whole pineapples scare me too! The outside flesh and core make my tongue itchy so i have to prep it really well.Perhaps I should be a little more couragous too.

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  3. it is so worth the effort! i am making some pineapple drinks to enjoy in my baby pool today...anything to cool off in this heat!

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  4. Great tutorial! I finally bought a pineapple slicer gadget and it's the best. Just cut off the top, rotate the device and in 30 seconds you pull out the whole fruit! It leaves a hollow pineapple that makes a pretty serving dish, too (it's on my blog). However, if you don't have one of these (about $25.00) your way is easy. LOVE grilled pineapple!

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  5. oh - i do love kitchen gadgets. thanks for the heads up!

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