The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

How to cut a fresh pineapple

We love having fresh pineapple when we're in Mexico. First of all, it's cheap. You can usually buy a fresh pineapple for about 10 pesos (80 cents). We typically buy one per week, so I'm getting pretty good at cutting them up. It wasn't always that way, but practice makes perfect!

Here's how I do it...


First of all, make sure the pineapple is ripe enough to eat. A few years ago back in the state of Veracruz, we bought a pineapple from a street vendor and he said that to tell if it is ripe you have to carefully pull one of the leaves out of the center of the top of the pineapple. If it comes out easily, the pineapple is ripe!

I use a heavy serrated knife for the whole process. First, cut off the top. Don't cut off too much, you don't want to waste any! If you don't cut off enough the first time, you can always cut a little more.

Then cut off the bottom.

Standing the pineapple on either end, it's now time to trim the sides. I try and take off about a 2" strip at a time. Again, don't take off too much!

Then, use the knife to pick off some off the larger seed pods that are leftover. It doesn't have to be perfect because when you eat it, you won't notice the little bits leftover.

This is what it should look like. At this point, you'll want to set aside the pineapple and clean your cutting board of all the little trimmings.

Next, cut your pineapple in half, directly through the core. Not all pineapples are totally symmetrical, so check both ends to try and cut through the middle as accurately as possible. It may not be an exactly straight cut!

Then cut the halves into quarters.

Now it's easy to cut the core out of each quarter piece.

Then cut each quarter again in the lengthwise direction.

And then cutting across into bite sized pieces.

And there you have it!

The entire process now takes me far less than five minutes! We eat a few pieces then and there, but we like it cold, so we put it in a container and into the fridge. The next day, it is a great mid morning snack after our daily exercises! Sweet, delicious, juicy, fresh pineapple!


16 comments:

  1. Try grilling it. Cut the peel off and then slice it into rings then mix some .honey, lime juice and black pepper. Brush it on then throw it on to the grill. Wait too it's golden. It Carmalizes and is delicious

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love fresh pineapple another way we had it was done on the grill with maple syrup, cinnamon and Grand Mariner brushed over it. Check our posting from last July. http://geosuzie.blogspot.ca/2012/07/another-great-day-in-upper-ratho-station.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. And I might add, once you've had truly fresh pineapple, you'll be "ruined" for life.
    "Delmonte" canned pineapple will never measure up.
    Believe it or not, we can get Delmonte pineapple here from Africa! I use it with ham, and cheese on a slice of bread, in the oven for a few minutes. First ham, then a slice of pineapple, then the cheese on last which then melts. Yummy.
    Whole pineapples are available in the stores, but they're not ripe.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We love pineapple too but I have never peeled one. Thanks for the lesson.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I saw an episode of Dr. Oz several months ago that said you should eat the core as it has lots of vitamins. He suggested eating all of it or cutting less of it off so you at least get some of it. I've tried it and its not bad.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We have juicer, and when I have felt ambitious and pineapples were cheap, I have juiced several quarts at a time, even freezing some sometimes. Yow! So good... The only limitation is the protein-dissolving enzyme in pineapple can start to digest your tongue and the inside of your mouth after a while, and it hurts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So *that's* why eating pineapple makes my mouth hurt (it's SO good though!).

      Delete
  7. Our favorite way is to sprinkle chile powder over it and let that absorb into the fruit... we've bought this from street vendors (in Mexico and the Caribbean) and it's delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  8. One of the things we are totally LOVING down here! LOVE pineapple - we have one in the fridge right now - we use it in our morning smoothies.

    Thanks for the prep tip!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Count me into the love pineapple crew. Is there anyone who doesn't? Great tips here. But chile powder?? Really??

    ReplyDelete
  10. I had a hamburguesa de pollo last night in Melaque, Jal, Mex. They put a slice of grilled pineapple on it, WOW! was that good.
    Pineapples are cheap and really good here, a truck goes thru town every day selling them off the back of a pickup. 10 pesos.
    Enjoy
    Roy
    www.ontheroadwithroyandbelinda.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is exactly how we cut them. Only difference is the top is taken by the locals and planted right back into the ground.

    ReplyDelete
  12. If Mui wasn't here in the MH with me, I'd think that was him cutting up the pineapple ... we love fresh pineapple. We'll have to try the grilling ideas one of these days.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the lesson! My mouth actually watered looking at the pictures.

    ReplyDelete

There are more comments on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TravelwithKevinAndRuth

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.