How To Select A Fresh Pineapple
There are several things to look for when selecting a fresh Pineapple.
1. Color is not the first thing to look for. A Pineapple can be ripe even if the outside looks mostly green.
2. A Pineapple will not ripen or get sweeter as it sits. So you need to eat your Pineapple right away. If you can’t eat it right away, you should store it in your refrigerator, but eat it as soon as possible to enjoy the fresh sweet flavor.
3. An old wives tale says that if you can easily pull out a leaf from the crown, then you have a good ripe Pineapple. This is not true, just merely an old wives tale.
4. Look for nice green leaves in the crown. If they look dry and brown that signals an old Pineapple.
5. Pineapple should be plump and look fresh. The body should be firm, not soft and mushy.
6. Smell the Pineapple. Smell the bottom. It should smell like a fresh Sweet Pineapple, if it smells like vinegar, it may be old. Also if you don’t smell anything at all, that may indicate it is not sweet.
7. If Pineapples are on sale at an absurdly low price, I would be a bit leery to purchase. This may signal that the market was not selling the Pineapple in a timely manner and they may be old. You can ask the produce manager how long it has been on the shelf.
Tip from: Hot Dish Homemaker
This is very helpful. Thank you. I will try the smell test. I had no idea that a green pineapple could be ripe, and that letting a pineapple sit will not ripen it further.
Some persons develop pain on their tongue while eating pineapple because of its proteolytic activity. I am one of them. So I can’t eat too much at one time.