HUB 03 · Guides
How to Cut a Pineapple
It looks armored, but a pineapple comes apart in five clean cuts. Top and base off, skin down the sides, eyes out, then core and slice into spears or chunks.
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A whole pineapple looks intimidating — spiky, tough-skinned, awkward — but it yields to a simple sequence, and a fresh one tastes far better than the pre-cut tubs. The keys are a stable base and a sharp knife: the skin is tough and fibrous, so a keen blade makes clean work of it while a dull one has you sawing and slipping. A ripe pineapple smells sweet at the base and gives slightly when pressed.
Two things to know first
The dark "eyes" just under the skin are tough and should come out — either by cutting the skin deep enough to take them with it, or by carving shallow diagonal grooves. And the core down the center is edible but woody, so most people cut it out. Everything else is method.
Step by step
How to do it
- 01
Cut off the crown and base
Lay the pineapple on its side and slice off the leafy crown and the bottom, taking about a centimeter off each end so you have two flat, stable surfaces. Stand it upright on the flat base.
- 02
Cut the skin off following the curve
Working top to bottom, cut down the sides to remove the skin in strips, following the curve of the fruit. Cut just deep enough to take the eyes with the skin, or leave them shallow and remove them next. Rotate and repeat all the way around.
- 03
Remove any remaining eyes
If any brown eyes are left, they usually run in diagonal spirals. Cut shallow V-shaped grooves along each diagonal row to lift them out with minimal waste. Skip this if you already took them with the skin.
- 04
Quarter the pineapple lengthwise
Stand the peeled pineapple up and cut it in half top to bottom, then in half again into four long quarters. This exposes the woody core running down the inner edge of each quarter.
- 05
Cut out the core, then slice
Lay each quarter on its side and cut away the strip of core along the inner edge. Then slice each quarter into spears, or cut across into bite-size chunks. Save the trimmings and cores for infusing water or a drink if you like.
Which knife and why a stable base matters
A chef's knife is ideal — long enough to run the length of the fruit and stiff enough for the tough skin. The two things that keep this safe are a flat, stable base (so the pineapple can't roll) and a sharp edgethat bites the fibrous skin instead of skidding. Work slowly down the curve and keep your guiding hand's fingers clawed back. A pineapple dulls a knife a little with all that fibrous contact, so it is a good reminder to hone afterward.
Questions
Frequently asked
Do you have to remove the core of a pineapple?
You don't have to — the core is edible — but it's tough and woody, so most people cut it out for a nicer texture. Quarter the pineapple and slice the strip of core off the inner edge of each quarter.
What are the brown spots on a pineapple?
Those are the "eyes" — tough, fibrous spots just under the skin. Remove them either by cutting the skin deep enough to take them with it, or by carving shallow diagonal V-grooves along the spiral rows they follow.
How do you know if a pineapple is ripe?
A ripe pineapple smells sweet and fragrant at the base, gives slightly when pressed, and has a golden color creeping up from the bottom. A green, hard, scentless one will be sharp and acidic.
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