I Learned How to Cut Pineapple

  My whole life I've had a love hate relationship with fresh pineapple. I love the flavor and texture of the tropical fruit, however ninety-eight percent of the time I get a thorn in my tongue. Not fun! When my sister moved in with me a few years ago she opened my eyes to a new technique--at least to me. I am a little slow on posting this, but I feel it is a service to anyone that wants to enjoy all of the benefits of this delectable fruit, without thorny consequences.

  First of all, choosing a pineapple that will taste great is key. The best way to choose a good pineapple is to smell the bottom. Usually you'll get at least a small hint of pineapple smell. If the smell isn't quite there, let it sit on the counter for a day or two. I like to wait until the bottom is growing just a little bit of mold (to be honest, I'm not sure if that's "officially" the best time to cut it, but in my experience it's the most flavorful and juicy at this point.). I've heard that if you put it in the fridge upside down for 30 min before cutting, all of the sugars will evenly distribute throughout the pineapple again. This technique is an intriguing concept though.

  I have pictures of each step, I know, it's a miracle! Photography is a future "to learn" item for me, but from my experience as a High School Yearbook Editor in Chief, I know a thing or two, so here we go:

First thing: Get rid of all of the stuff you know you can't eat.

You should end up with something like this. Make sure you stay fairly close to the outside of the pineapple
as you peel the sides so you waste less fruit in the end. 

Notice that the spines of the pineapple line up at an angle (they also line up vertically on this particular pineapple, but that isn't always the case.). 

You'll want to cut the spines out using a wedge cut (shown below).

Rotate pineapple continuing to cut wedges, taking out all spines and seeds, until you end up with a piece of art:

Now you trim the core out of the pineapple. You can see the circular pattern in the middle--that part of the fruit is tough and fibrous. You don't want to eat it. Using your knife cut straight down. Your knife should slide easily through the fruit. If it is difficult to cut trough, you're too close to the core. 

Your end result should look something like this. The core can be disposed of, and the other four sections now have cutting guidelines. I cut each large section vertically to create about 1" strips. Then I followed the angled lines with my knife.

 End result: fresh, thorn free, juicy pineapple. Yum! Thanks Sis!!