Wash and Go

• Pineapples are on the Environmental Working Group's "Clean 15" list of the fruits and vegetables that are least likely to have pesticide residue. And since you have to remove the fruit's thick peel, you don't need to spend a lot of time scrubbing and washing a pineapple before cutting it. Just rinse the fruit under running water.

Peeling Instructions

• • Lay the pineapple on its side on the cutting board.
  • Cut off the top of the pineapple, removing the leaves and about one inch of the fruit. The flesh right under the leaves can be tough. (See section 4 for an alternative option.)
  • Cut off the bottom of the pineapple, removing about one inch of the fruit.
  • Stand the pineapple up on the board.
  • Slice off the peel in strips, moving the knife from the top of the fruit to the bottom, and rotating the pineapple after each cut until all the peel is removed. You want to cut into the fruit enough just enough to remove the thick, spiny peel but not enough to slice away any of the flesh.
  • Remove the eyes, the brown spots that dot the flesh. Scoop them out one by one using a melon baller. Because the eyes tend to sit in lines, you can also cut out entire strips of them using your knife. Slice diagonally into the fruit on either side of the eyes, leaving V-shaped trenches behind.

Slicing Up Pineapple

• The inner core of the pineapple is tough, so you'll want to remove it. How you do that is determined by the shape of the pieces you want to create.

  To Cut Chunks or Wedges: With the peeled pineapple still sitting upright on your cutting board, slice it in half vertically, then cut those pieces in half vertically, creating four large wedges. Cut away the narrowest part of each wedge to remove the core. Now you can dice the pineapple to use in salads, cut it into bite-sized chunks for threading onto skewers or slice it into wedges for snacking.

  To Cut Rings: Turn the pineapple on its and side cut it into slices. Use a small round cookie cutter to remove the core from the center of each piece. You can then use these rings whole by grilling them or in pineapple upside down cake, or can cut them up into smaller chunks.

Tips for Slicing

• Peeled pineapple is juicy and slippery. Keep a clean hand towel nearby to dry your hands between cuts. The riper the fruit, the wetter it will be, and a slip of your knife can be dangerous.

  One way to make this task less messy and nerve-wracking is to leave the top and leaves of the pineapple on to use as a kind of handle while you make the rest of the cuts. This method can be a little unwieldy and prickly, but give it a try if you're not confident about your knife skills.