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Devour.Asia

Connie Veneracion explores Asian food, history and culture

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You are here: Home / Kitchen Tales / Cooking Techniques / How to Skin and Cut a Whole Pineapple Without Waste

How to Skin and Cut a Whole Pineapple Without Waste

I’ve seen a lot of chefs on TV cutting off a thick chunk of the pineapple’s skin to remove the “eyes.” So wasteful. Those eyes are at least a quarter of an inch deep, there’s a lot of edible flesh between the eyes and, ergo, so much of the luscious flesh gets discarded with the skin.

Filipinos have a technique that is both frugal and creative. It’s not rocket science and does not even require any special tools nor fancy knife skills. Maybe it’s time for celebrity chefs to learn something that culinary schools don’t teach.

Here is my unofficially official sister-in-law (go figure), Laura, skinning and cutting a whole pineapple. Sam took the photos.

First of all, Laura says don’t cut off the leaves. That’s where you’ll hold the fruit to avoid touching the flesh with your bare hands. Very sanitary.

Cutting off the skin of a pineapple

Start cutting off the skin from the top of the fruit to the bottom. Follow the natural curve of the fruit and cut as close to the skin as you can manage.

Turn the fruit around little by little as you cut the skin.

Making diagonal slashes to remove pineapple "eyes"

Hold the fruit at a 45-degree angle and make a diagonal slash about three quarters of an inch deep between the eyes. The slash should also be at an angle — like the left or right arm of a letter “V”.

Cutting off pineapple eyes

Make another slash on the other side of the eyes, this time cutting toward the opposite direction. In effect, the first and second slashes should meet at the bottom forming a “V”.

Proper way to cut a pineapple

The cut “V” with the embedded eyes should now come off easily.

Go to the next row of “eyes”, repeat…

How to cut a pineapple

… And keep going until you have all the eyes removed.

Cutting pineapple into rings

Now, you can slice the pineapple into fluted-edged rings or wedges. I like cutting out the core but a lot of this blog’s readers say that the core is totally edible.

Interesting fact about pineapples: Did you know that nature has so arranged the “eyes” of the pineapple in accordance with the Fibonacci sequence—eight in one direction and 13 in the opposite direction?

Recipes with pineapple:

  • Pork and Pineapple Adobo
  • Chili Chicken With Fresh Pineapple (Pininyahang Manok)
  • Crispy Fried Fish With Chili Pineapple Sauce
  • Chicken, Tomatoes and Pineapple Stew
  • Pork Stew in Balsamic-Pineapple Sauce
  • Shrimps With Sweet Mangoes and Pineapple

Inside my Asian kitchen

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How to Make a Roux and How to Use It

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Cooking Okra Pods, Leaves and Flowers

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What’s the Difference Between Giblets and Gizzards?

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An Introduction to Edible Sea Urchins and Uni Sashimi

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A Southeast Asian Coffee Story

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Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand

An Afternoon at Phuket’s Patong Beach

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What We Discovered on the Flight to Chiang Mai and During our First Few Hours in the City

February 5, 2012 : Cooking Techniques Kitchen Tales, Fruits & Vegetables
Previous Post: « About snow peas, snap peas, sweet peas, mangetout and edamame Snow Peas, Snap Peas, Sweet Peas, Mangetout and Edamame
Next Post: How To Cook Fresh Edamame (Fresh Soy Beans in Pods) Fresh edamame »

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