How to peel pineapple at home

Pineapple has become popular with us for a long time, but often customers prefer tinned fruit just because they don’t know how to peel a fresh pineapple. But in a ripe juicy fruit contains so many vitamins and nutrients that cannot be preserved even with careful preservation. In order not to deprive yourself of the opportunity to enjoy an exotic fragrant fruit in its natural form, remember a few recommendations on how to clean the pineapple from the peel of the house.

Selection of ripe pineapple

First of all, you need to buy a quality and mature product.

1. The “green” pineapple will be too hard, tart or even bitter. It does not yet have all the valuable elements that accumulate in the ripe fruit. A suitable pineapple will exude a delicate characteristic aroma, spring a little when squeezed in the palms of its hands, and its crown will retain its greenery and freshness.
2. Overripe pineapples are usually softer. They can ooz, and their leaves dry out and turn yellow. Such a pineapple will be as sweet as possible. But there is a catch. For safety during transportation, fruits are often treated with chemical compounds. Entering into a reaction with them, the fetus can begin to ferment. Therefore, choose fresh young fruits.
3. The size of pineapples differs depending on the variety, so miniature fruits are not necessarily green, but may turn out to be quite sweet, juicy and fragrant. Usually larger pineapples have a bright yellow hue inside, and dwarf varieties are distinguished by a pale yellow sweet "filling".
4. Be sure to inspect the peel so that it is clean, dry, free from damage and traces of mold. It should not be under the crust and felt soft patches and “dips”. When tapped, the ripe fruit produces a dull sound, and the weight of a juicy pineapple will always be impressive.

How to peel a pineapple

Washing pineapples is almost pointless, so try to process the fruit carefully, without transferring dust and plaque from the peel to the edible flesh.

Professionals use a special knife that resembles a corkscrew in operation and appearance. To use this tool, a hat with leaves is cut off from the pineapple, after which the device is inserted into the center of the pulp in a spiral. This eliminates the core, and the flesh is cut into rings. Of pristine peel often make vessels for cocktails.

But you can resort to improvised tools. First you need to figure out which part of the pineapple is edible. It is customary to cut off the bottom of the fruit, the hat with the leaves, and then remove the coarse cone-like peel and the stiff middle. When both poles are cut from the fruit, there are several options for cutting:

1. Cut the fruit in half lengthwise, then gently cut the middle in a semicircle, and chop the flesh inside the “shell” with cubes and serve in such a natural “dish”.
2. Also, the longitudinal halves can be cut into slices, half rings, and then peeled off each peel individually. The disadvantage of this cleaning method is the loss of juice.
3. You can divide the fetus into four longitudinal parts. After this, the core is easily removed with a spoon or knife. The pulp is cleaned from the peel boats or the thistles are cut into slices and cleaned one at a time with a knife.
4. You can put the whole fruit on an open bottom and begin to cut thin stripes of the skin from top to bottom, trying not to touch the pulp. When the fetus is exposed, the corners that have dug into the pulp are cut out. You can notice that they are arranged in a spiral, so just walk along the pulp with a knife near the “eyes” on both sides of the wedge - make one serpentine incision and the second, then all unnecessary elements will be removed. After that, the core is removed, as convenient.
5. If you need pineapple cubes for salad or snacks - you can cut the flesh into small pieces, and then chop.
6. If you need beautiful slices - the middle is either outlined with a spoon on both sides, after which they are finished with a knife, or the pineapple is cut into 2-4 parts and act, as in cases without peeling.
7. Sometimes the core is not cut out, but thinly sliced ​​whole are served. Then the flesh is eaten in a circle, holding the pineapple with the fingers in the center, and the "stub" is thrown out.
8. Another rough way to cut pineapple is to cut the whole fruit into thick rings, and after that cut off the peel from them, as if separating it with a knife along the contour. Do the same with the core.

Working with pineapple is painstaking and troublesome, but a healthy diet fruit is completely worth it. Do not despair if you did not manage to gently peel the pineapple the first time - all culinary skills come with experience.

How to serve pineapple

Pineapple is served in half rings or slices in a quarter of a ring as a dessert and in a cut for an appetizer for cocktails. In salads, on canapé sandwiches or on buffet tables, you can find pineapple cubes drenched in sugar-lemon syrup or served in bowls, in your own peel and on a platter.

If pineapple is eaten in its pure form, like a watermelon or melon, whole rings can be served, and it can also be baked, dried on candied fruit or canned. In addition, steamed pineapple can be mashed, and fresh - knocked into a mousse using a blender. Such a mass is used as a base for alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, diet drinks, milk and fruit desserts and preserves or compote.

This is useful to know: cake after squeezing the juice from the pulp of pineapple should not be thrown away. Raw materials can be dried in the oven with the addition of honey or sugar syrup, forming sweets. Later, such a workpiece can be poured with chocolate icing. It is also used for brewing marmalade with other fruit components, for example, apples, peaches, quinces, red currants. In addition, fragrant pineapple shavings can be added to yoghurts, cereals, ice cream or cookies. Fiber will have a good effect on digestion, and a delicate exotic flavor will make the dishes interesting and diversify the daily diet.

Video: how to peel and chop pineapple