How To: Pick a good pineapple and cut it

Frederic Patenaude demonstrates selecting and cutting a fresh pineapple. To select a fresh pineapple, he discusses that the color is not a great indicator. Instead he suggests looking at the bottom of the pineapple to make sure the base is yellow, indicating ripeness. He also smells the pineapple to make sure it smells ripe. he also checks for bad spots, softness or leakage around the whole fruit. He communicates that any tests with leaves are also not indicators. One way to cut a pineapple is to twist off the leaves on top, cut the pineapple in half from top to bottom, and then cut the halves into quarters. Then slice under the skin. The pineapple can be sliced and left to serve on top of the skin using that method. Another method is to twist off the top. In order to waste as little as possible, start by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit. Then slice off the skin removing it closely but leaving eyes as needed to keep the most amount of fruit. Once all the skin is off, cut vee shapes into the pineapple to get several eyes out at a time. He indicates that this method also makes a good pineapple presentation. After all the eyes are cut out, slice the pineapple or core it and cut it into cubes.