How to Cut Pineapple Rings

Pineapple is a wonderful fruit, full of flavor, teeming with nutrients. Nothing smells as good as a beautifully ripe, fresh pineapple. Why then do we eat so little fresh pineapple? Mostly because it seems so intimidating to take apart. Fear no longer. This operation, taken step by step, is as easy as peeling, coring and slicing an apple. You'll soon be amazing your friends with your beautiful fresh pineapple rings.

Things You'll Need

• Fragrant, ripe pineapple
• Sharp knife

Instructions

1. 

   Lay your pineapple on its side. Grasp the leafy crown in one hand and use the other hand to slice off the bottom, or stem end. The pineapple should be able to stand on this flat end.

2. 

   Stand the pineapple on its bottom end and make sure it sits steady. Even out the bottom a bit more if you need to. Remove the skin with a sharp knife, cutting thinly from top to bottom. Cut just close enough to remove the brown skin. Make each cut anywhere from half an inch to an inch wide, whatever is easiest for you. Don't hurry and don't worry about the eyes.

3. 

   Look at your pineapple and see that the eyes run in diagonal rows around the pineapple, crisscrossing each other and creating a series of diamonds. To remove the eyes, cut a long V-shaped channel diagonally down through the centers of the diamonds.
   The picture shows the start of two of these cuts. Hold onto the crown and make your angled cuts down the sides of each row of eyes, removing the eyes as you cut. You will end up with a peeled pineapple with a series of diamonds cut into the surface where the eyes used to be.

4. 

   Cut off the crown and save it for decoration if you like. Cut parallel to the bottom end. You will be left with a peeled cylinder of pineapple.

5. Use a long, thin knife to cut down into the center of your pineapple to remove the core. You can cut halfway down and then turn the pineapple over and cut from the other end to make it easier. Or cut your slices first and then remove the core from each slice. Either way, all that's left is to sit back and bask in the admiration of one and all as they dig into your freshly cut pineapple rings.

Tips & Warnings

• Use sharp knives. Pick a ripe pineapple by sniffing for a fragrant fruit. If you need to grip better, hold the pineapple with a kitchen towel.

Resources

• Tastes & Flavors of Pineapple
• Pineapple Slicer Corer
• Vacu Vin Stainless-Steel Pineapple Easy Slicer