Pinapple Baby!

So, this post is inspired by Meg over at Unzipping My Fat Suit.  Go check her out....great blog, very inspiring!

I had commented on one her posts about snacks and wondering what sort of things people snack on.  I mentioned that I love fresh pineapple.  She mentioned to me that she is a bit intimated by buying a whole pineapple and asked what is the best way to cut one up.

Now, I am always looking for a blog post subject and I thought....perhaps other people feel the same way.  I know I did when I first bought one. 

For me, pineapple is only something I discovered to be yummy once I became an adult...and we are talking fresh pineapple here...not the canned stuff. 

I know there are special tools to help you cut them or you can buy them already cut, but I have come up with a method that is easy and works great for me.  You don't get the core or the "eyes" still attached to your chunks.

Let's take a look shall we?

 

Firstly, buy yourself a pineapple.  There is probably a trick to picking out a good one, but I don't know it.  I just make sure it's not real soft on the bottom.  Once you bring it home....it won't keep long, so you need to cut it up within a day or so (in my experience anyway)

 

 

The first thing I do is cut off both ends, like this.

 

It should now look a little something like this without the ends and will sit pretty nicely on your cutting board.

 

I then cut it in half right down the middle

 

Continue to cut in half again the other way so you have 4 big chunks

 

 

If you look real close at the middle, you can see a slight circle...this is the "core" and I don't enjoy eating it.  It's hard.  I suppose you could eat it, but I don't like to

 

 

 

Cut each of your 4 large chunks into half again

 

You should now have 8 sections

 

Take a section and cut off the "rind", just enough so you also cut off the little brown eyes inside too

 

You also need to cut out the "core" too.  You will be able to see it and feel it too.  It's denser than the pineapple

 

 

Once all of your 8 pieces are trimmed, you are left with 8 good chunks

 

Cut them into whatever size pieces you want for eating.



 

I now have a bowl full of pineapple, all ready for eating.  Again, you pretty much need to eat it in the same day...but if you picked a good one...it's like eating candy and you won't be able to stop.  If you didn't pick a good one, leave it for your husband to eat! 

 

 

Everything you cut off can go in your compost bin...you know...to make good soil for the veggie garden you are going to plant in a few weeks!

I hope this was helpful.  Once you have done it a few times, it gets easier.  I have tried a number of different ways to cut up pineapple, but this is the easiest way I have found.

Do you have a better way?  How about a way to pick out a good pineapple?