How to cut a fresh pineapple

OmniPotentTitan · 08-06-2006, 04:44 PM

Quote:

HOW TO PREPARE A FRESH PINEAPPLE

It's a snap to cut fresh pineapple. When you know how to serve this big, beautiful fruit, you'll be able to create dazzling meals. For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, pineapple goes with any meal. All you need is a long sharp knife to cut the fruit in half, and a short serrated knife to cut away the shell.

2 BASIC STEPS:
1) Cutting in half is the first step in preparing fresh pineapple. It's easy, just use a long, sharp knife, start from the bottom and cut through the leafy crown.

2) Hollowing out the shell of the halved pineapple is the next step in preparing many colorful and attractive dishes. Begin by cutting around the fruit about one-half inch from shell. Use a short, serrated knife for this job. When the fruit is removed, you can use the empty pineapple shell as a serving dish, also called a Pineapple Boat.

CREATE A PINEAPPLE OUTRIGGER:

1) Cut the halved pineapple into quarters. Use a long, sharp knife and cut from the bottom to the leafy top.

2) Trim away the hard core of pineapple using a short, serrated knife. With the same knife, cut away the fruit from the the shell, but leave the fruit in place.

3) Cut the fruit in half, lengthwise, using your long knife. Then cut the fruit crosswise into many bite-size pieces.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING...

Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, a protelytic enzyme that breaks down protein in a manner similiar to what happens in digestion. Because of this:

* Gelatin made with fresh pineapple won't set
* Cottage cheese, sour cream and other dairy products should not be mixed with fresh pineapple until just before serving.

BUT...you can use fresh pineapple to great advantage in a meat marinade to add a flavor accent and help tenderize less tender cuts of meat.