Here's what works for me -
done it on Hawaii and done it in the states, done it with a machete in
the tropics and done in a kitchen with the tools below - so it works, at
least for me


If you want fresh ripe pineapple -

You are unlikely to find a ripe pineapple in a store. So you need to get
one and ripen it-

1) Get one and ripen it

First choose a pineapple that has some yellow on the skin, the darker the
yellow the better. While light green-yellow is usually ok, avoid any "hard
green" pineapples - darker green - they usually won't ripen. Choose a
pineapple that has some pineapple smell, if you can.

Let the pineapple ripen on the counter until the skin is yellow-brown and it
smells strongly of RICH pineapple. Once yellow-brown starts, the pineapple
is near ripe - when ripe, surface of the skin should JUST start to soften.
(Although a little overripe is better than a little underripe). The nose
will also tell you.

2) Then peel it - if it's really ripe, think raincoat amounts of juice

Wash off the pineapple, leaves too, and shake dry.

I then cut the base off enough so I have a flat surface on the bottom of the
pineapple. A ripe pineapple is pretty juicy, and you will be pushing down
against the base, so don't make that cut too deep. Leave a lot of "hard" and
even skin. It will be removed later.

I stand the pineapple on that cut end on a small board in a shallow pan ( to
catch the juice), and I then use a sharp bolo or heavy sharp knife and two
hands (kid uses a serrated bread knife to saw off the skin one-handed) to
cut down, from leaf stem to base, to just remove the layer of skin, leaving
only the little brown bits (nodes/nodules) in the centers of the segments.
Do this to all sides of the pineapple.
(Some people cut deep enough when skinning to remove the little nodules
with the skin, but I think that removes a lot of the flavorful part)

I then use a small-tipped potato peeler (or a paring knife) to remove all
the nodes. You can see how much to take off to get the node, after you dig
out the first couple. Tedious, but necessary.

At this point you should have a pineapple with a hard base that maybe has
some skin at the base, leaves on the other end with some skin under the
leaves, a lot of little holes where the nodes were on the sides, and no
brown nodes or skin on most of the pineapple. And a fair amount of juice in
the pan.

3) Trim (remove the hard) and prepare for presentation-
Note- The cutter gets to chew/share the meaty trims - there is some soft
and some hard and always juice in the meaty trim.

I now cut the base farther up the pineapple, just enough to remove the
hard part and any skin left there from earlier. Base is done.

Now you are at the presentation part - do you want leaves on for decoration
(quarter it and cut off the hard core), do you want a cored whole pineapple
so you can to fill the core with chunks or other fruit or rum-ice (core it
with an apple peeler), do you want a leaf hat on a rum keg (angle-cut the
top off so it fits back on), etc.?

For spears and chunks:
I lop off the leaves and upper stem and any skin under them. Top is done.

I then set the pineapple on end and use the heavy knife to quarter it
lengthwise.

I cut off the hard part of the core from each of the quarters. Pineapple
peeling and trimming is done

You now have four wedges of pineapples without little burrs or cores.

And four core wedges to decorate other drinks (I personally don't use them
in any drinks I might make from the pineapple, because they aren't as sweet
as the eatin' part. IMHO)

4) Drain the juice you caught in the pan through a mesh strainer - I have
had as much as a cup of juice in the pan after peeling and coring.

You now have four large wedges and a container of juice

And wash your hands - I swear the juice digests skin.

hope it helps



"Von Fourche" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
> Ok, I would like to buy a fresh pineapple to make a Pina Colada. A
> tropical drink book I have says I can use the juice and the fiber from
> pineapple crushed in a blender.
>
> My question: how do I go about preparing a pineapple to crush in a
> blender to use in a drink?
>
> Do I cut the thing in half and dig out the inside of the pineapple?
You
> don't throw the whole pineapple including the outside of it in a blender
do
> you? It's the insides I need to use, right?
>
> How do I get the juice and fiber out and in the blender? Just cut it
out
> and toss it in?
>
> I've never bought a pineapple before so that's the reason for this
crazy
> question. I would love to make a Pina Colada using a fresh pineapple.
>
> Thanks!
>
>