How to Peel a Pineapple

Trimming the Ends

Start with a ripe pineapple that's more yellow than green. Press into the pineapple gently to feel if the fruit yields under your finger. Then, smell the base of the pineapple to tell if it's fragrant and sweet. If you can't smell the pineapple at all, it's not ripe enough. If you're using a plastic cutting board, lay a kitchen towel underneath it to prevent the board from sliding around as you cut.

Lay the pineapple on its side and slice off the crown ⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) below the leaves. Hold the pineapple against the cutting board with your non-dominant hand and keep your fingers curled under so you don't accidentally cut them. Use a large knife to carefully slice off the end with the prickly leaves. The leaves are called the crown.Tip: Set the crown aside if you'd like to use it to decorate a fruit platter. You could place it in the center of a platter and arrange chopped pineapple and other fresh fruit around it. Use a chef's knife or serrated bread knife.

Slice off the bottom of the pineapple so the fruit could sit flat. Turn the pineapple 180-degrees and hold it in place with your non-dominant hand. Cut the base of the pineapple off so you remove the bottom ⁄2 inch (1.3 cm). The pineapple will now sit flat on its bottom so it will be easier to peel the sides. Andrew Dornenburg Andrew Dornenburg, James Beard Award-Winning Chef Always peel a pineapple before cutting to remove the prickly skin. Then, place it base-down and slice off the top and bottom. Stand it upright and cut down along the contour of the fruit, following the shape to remove the peel and eyes in long strips.

Slicing the Peel Off of the Sides

Turn the pineapple upright and place a knife near the top edge. Stand the pineapple so it's flat on your cutting board and hold it in place. Position a large knife at the top where the flat edge meets the side with the peel. It doesn't matter which end of the pineapple is up or down.

Cut down the side of the pineapple from top to bottom to remove a strip of the peel. Slowly move your knife back and forth to help it move down the pineapple. Try to cut the peel without removing too much fruit.Tip: Since pineapple is curved near the top and bottom, follow the natural arc of the fruit as you cut. To keep the most fruit on the pineapple, remove about ⁄4 inch (0.64 cm) off the sides.

Slice the peel away from the entire pineapple. Turn the pineapple a little so you can cut the peel away from another side of the pineapple. Continue to turn and slice off the peel until you've removed the whole thing. Your pineapple is now peeled, but you'll see prickly eyes all over the fruit. Discard the pineapple peels or toss them in your compost.

Removing the Eyes

Look for the rows of eyes on the fruit. Keep your pineapple upright on the cutting board and look closely at the prickly eyes. You'll see that these eyes fall in diagonal lines, which will make them easy to trim away. Although you could leave the eyes in the fruit, they can be unpleasantly prickly to eat.

Cut a diagonal line next to a row of eyes. Take a small paring knife and cut into the pineapple's fruit at a 45-degree angle. Make a long diagonal cut next to 2 to 3 of the eyes. You can cut above the eyes or below them.

Slice another diagonal line on the opposite side of the eyes. Move the paring knife so it's on the other side of the eyes and slice another line at a 45-degree angle. This will create a V-shaped trench with the eyes in the middle.Variation: If you don't want your pineapple to have diagonal cuts running across it, you could use a paring knife to trim away each individual eye. This will leave more of the fruit intact, but it will be more time-consuming.

Pull away the eyes and discard them. If the diagonal lines you cut intersect, the V-shaped piece of fruit with the eyes should be easy to remove. Use your finger to pull it out and away. You can discard the strip of fruit with the eyes or trim the fruit between the eyes and save it.

Continue to cut diagonal rows of eyes around the entire pineapple. Cut another row of eyes below the row you just cut. Once you've cut away all the eyes from 1 side, turn the pineapple and cut all the eyes on that side. The pineapple will begin to have a spiral shape from where you've removed the eyes.

Cut the pineapple into rings or wedges. To make rings, place the pineapple on its side and make slices as thick as you like. Use a small round cutter to slice out the tough center from each ring. If you'd rather cut wedges, cut the pineapple lengthwise into quarters. Then, cut out the tough core from the center of each wedge. If you'd like to make chunks, take a wedge and slice crosswise to make pieces that are as wide as you want.