I thought that it might be quite interesting for me to show you how I usually cut my pineapples as it's such a quick, simple & relatively fuss-free way to cut them. To test if a pineapple is ripe, see if the middle leaves can be easily removed with a gentle tug - just pull one or two & this should give you an indication. The outer skin colour of the pineapple will also indicate to you how ripe it is - there should be no green colour or pale patches - just even, orangey golden coloured skin. Firstly, take your pineapple and cut the 'top' and 'tail off it' (as in thephoto above).
Next, stand it upright (cutting the top & tail off will create a square base which stands easily on a surface) & slice all the skin off in wide strips, as seen in the photo below. (I cut it quite thickly so as to get all the little 'hairy' bits out, too. Any bits that remain, I simply cut out with a paring knife.)
Then, just slice your pineapple in half and now it should look like this -:
Then slice each half (straight down the centre) into halves again, so that you have 4 pieces/quarters -:
Notice the white 'ridge' running along the edge of each quarter above ? Well, this can be a tough and tasteless part of the pineapple, so you just want to remove it by slicing it off each quarter like you see in the photo below (the 4 sliced off bits are pictured horizontally).
Now simply take these 4 quarters & slice them in to cubes, any size you like (you might prefer yours a bit smaller than the ones pictured below) -:
Voila ! There you have it - easy, hey ? When I see my pineapples getting ripe, I cut them like this & keep them stored in a covered glass bowl in my fridge for up to 3 days. The cubes can be eaten fresh or added into a salad, and after a day or two as they begin to soften I usually use them for cooking - thrown into stir-frys etc. (My current favourite is a vegetable stir-fry with pineapple cubes added and stacks of garlic & Soy Sauce added !) I do not like the taste of fresh pineapple much, but adore it when it's cooked.
