How To Cut A Pineapple

Pineapples are a sweet, acidic fruit native to South America, but are now grown in tropical regions all over the world. The name pineapple comes from the fruit's similarity to a pinecone.

Step 1: Preparation

If a pineapple is fresh and ripe, the skin will be mostly orange in colour, and the surface of the flesh will give slightly when you push on it. Using a sharp fruit knife, start by cutting the head off the pineapple just below the top so as to conserve as much fruit as possible. Then turn the pineapple over and cut the base off in the same way. The next step is to remove the skin, cutting down from the top in long strips. Don't cut into the fruit too deeply to remove the eyes, as this will waste a lot of fruit. Once the skin is removed, cut out the eyes of the pineapple, following the diagonal lines of the eyes to create a spiral around the pineapple. Slice the pineapple in half from top to bottom across its entire diameter, and then slice each piece in half again to create quarters. Cut diagonally across the inside corner of each piece to remove the hard core that runs down the centre of the pineapple.

Step 2: Serving the pineapple

You can serve the pineapple just as it, cut into long quarters, which can then be eaten with a knife and fork. Alternatively, cut each quarter into narrow slices which will be easier to eat by hand.