How to tell if a pineapple is ripe … kitchen helper
There’s nothing that evokes feelings of warm days and tropical holidays quite like sweet, juicy pineapple. Whether you like to eat it fresh or use it in recipes, pineapple brings a lot to the table, but sometimes it can be tricky to know whether the pineapple you’re buying is at the right stage of ripeness for your needs. Read on for our top tips on how to tell if a pineapple is ripe.
1. Use your nose – a ripe pineapple will smell sweet near the bottom (opposite the spiky part). Pineapples that have no scent are not ripe yet, and those that have an alcohol/fermented smell are over-ripe.
2. Look at the colour – pineapples that are ripe have less green and more of that characteristic yellow colour to their skin. Unripe pineapples are usually greener and pineapples that are brown are over-ripe.
3. Feel it – a ripe pineapple will have a slight give if gently squeezed. Unripe pineapples will be very firm.
