From the first glance, cutting a pineapple can seem like a chore -- how do you work with this thorny fruit? Knowing how to cut, portion, and work around a pineapple is crucial to getting the most out of it in the kitchen, as it will allow you to properly prepare smoothies, make a fresh fruit plate for brunch, or get the ideal cuts of pineapple for grilling. A sharp knife, a cutting board, and great care are needed. Check out these simple cutting methods to learn the many ways you can work this fruit.
Easy Pineapple Cutting Methods
Spiral-Cut Pineapple
- Cut the crown (the leafy top) and the bottom off of the pineapple. Set the pineapple upright on your cutting board.
- Carefully cut the skin off the pineapple from top to bottom. You want to cut close to the skin so that you can still see the "eyes" of the pineapple (the brown spots where the thorns grew out of) and you don't want to remove too much of the inside of the fruit.
- Next step will be removing the eyes of the pineapple. Simply use the edge of the knife to make little V-cuts to get underneath the eyes and remove each one. This will leave the pineapple looking like a spiral.
- Cut the pineapple into quarters, starting from the top and working towards the bottom.
- Remove the "core" (the tough, darker yellow part of the pineapple) from each quarter.
- You can choose to cut these quarters into smaller pieces or leave them as is!
Bite-Sized Pineapple Cuts
- Remove the crown and the bottom from the pineapple, and set the pineapple upright on the cutting board.
- Cut the pineapple in half, top to bottom.
- Remove the core from each half by doing V-cuts.
- Cut each half of the pineapple in half lengthwise, so you'll be left with four pieces.
- Rotate a quarter and make half-inch slices all the way down. You want to cut to the skin, but do not cut through it. Repeat for each quarter of pineapple.
- Run your knife along the edge between the skin and the flesh of the pineapple. This will loosen up all the pieces and you'll be left with bite-sized pineapple pieces.
Flower Shaped Pineapple Cuts
- Remove the crown and bottom from the pineapple and set it upright.
- Cut the pineapple in half, top to bottom.
- Remove the skin from the middle of the pineapple halves, then flip it over so you have the core/inside of the pineapple facing up at you.
- Using V-cuts, remove the cores from the pineapple halves.
- Flip the pineapple over and remove the skin. Remove the eyes of the pineapple using the edge of the knife and doing small V-cuts.
- Rotate the pineapple and thinly slice it. The pieces of pineapple will resemble half of a flower.
Fast and Easy
- Cut the crown and bottom off the pineapple.
- Cut the pineapple in half, lengthwise
- Remove the skin and eyes in one cutting motion -- this will require you to cut a little bit deeper into the pineapple and you will lose some of the fruit, but it works much quicker.
- Cut the pineapple into quarters, top to bottom.
- Remove the cores of each quarter using V-cuts.
- Chop the pineapple into your preferred sized.
