Asian pineapple cutting

Both of these recipes make for crowd-pleasing party dishes. Choose the Best Side of your Pineapple. Start with a ripe pineapple. When purchasing, look for nice color both in the leaves and the skin.

And while canned pineapple can work in a pinch for some recipes, fresh pineapple has a far superior flavor and texture. There are several varieties of pineapple grown around the world and they all have different growing seasons, making pineapple available pretty much year round. Look for pineapples that smell sweet, but not fermented. They should give a little when squeezed, but not be squishy soft.

How to cut a pineapple in an efficient manner? Carving out a spiral-cut pineapple basically entails cutting out the eyes hard dark brown spots in a diagonal pattern of lines that swirls around the fruit. Done that way, you waste less of the tart-sweet flesh and the pretty result is ready for a Tikki party, luau, or, in my case, for snacking and cooking. Taking an artful approach to the fruit is how my mom taught me to cut a pineapple.

Let's face it: pineapples are weird. They look weird, they're weird to cut into, we can't figure out where they come from or how they grow, and while we love them already cut up in prepared fruit salads or tropical drinks, the thought of actually having to pick one of these spiky buggers up at the grocery store scares the bejesus out of us. Thankfully, the below 17 facts will not only prove just how strangely awesome pineapples are, they will also demystify the sweet fruit forever -- empowering us all to enjoy them like pros. It takes almost 3 years for a single pineapple to reach maturation. Which makes the price tag a bit more understandable.