Tasty and healthy pineapple has long been no wonder on our table, but many are still afraid of its exoticism. In fact, to look at a ripe quality fruit in a store or in a market is not difficult at all if you know how. Choosing a pineapple correctly, it is easy to peel and chop it, serving, and save for the future will be possible without problems, if you take into account a few simple recommendations.
The main "tip" is the price
No matter how trivial it sounds, but first of all you should pay attention to how much a pineapple costs. How to choose the right fresh and ripe fruit, can tell the price that the seller asks for it.
In order to deliver these fruits fresh to the shelves, their transportation, as a rule, is carried out by plane, and this is not cheap for the supplier. Accordingly, the price of a good pineapple will be at a level.
In the event that the importer chose to order the transportation of pineapples by sea, they may cost a little cheaper. However, then you need to consider that this method of transportation takes considerable time. Staying on the road, the fruits may well over-ripen. Therefore, if the seller focuses exclusively on the favorable price of pineapples, it is worthwhile to carefully examine them before succumbing to his persuasion and buy.
At the same time, the statement “dear means good” is also not always true. It is possible that the seller simply overestimated the price of a very mediocre product.
The conclusion is obvious: the price will serve as a good clue on how to choose a good ripe pineapple, but do not blindly focus only on it. Additionally, to study the fetus still does not hurt at all.
How to determine the ripeness of pineapple by smell
To determine whether the pineapple is suitable for eating, you can smell by holding the fetus at arm's length. Unripe fruit will not smell at all. But the aroma of a good ripe pineapple should be pleasant, delicate, slightly sweet.
If the fetus smells too saturated, even cloyingly - most likely, he has overslept. It is not subject to long storage. It is better to choose another pineapple if you are not supposed to serve it immediately after purchase. In addition, it is possible that the fetus began to ferment - in this case, it is not at all suitable for food.
How to choose a pineapple correctly
The selection criteria for this exotic fruit are not at all limited to price and smell. There are other secrets to how to determine the ripeness of pineapple.
It is worthwhile to carefully examine the fetus. Flakes of ripened pineapple, as a rule, have a brownish, yellowish or orange-gray hue. A greenish color may indicate that the pineapple is not ripe (however, not always). There should also be no whitish spots between the fruit scales - this is how mold manifests itself. In a high-quality fruit, the scales will be elastic and dense, but at the same time slightly soft to the touch. They will be too hard for the green fruit. If they are pretty soft and easily pressed inward - most likely, the pineapple has rotted.
Another way to identify ripe pineapple is like picking a ripened watermelon. Simply lightly pat the fruit with your palm. A ripe fruit with juicy pulp will make a dull sound. An "empty" sound will indicate that the pineapple is dry.
In addition, the fresh fruit has beautiful green leaves. If you pull lightly on one of them, it should be easily separated from the rod. A leaf of green pineapple will hold tight, and in a rotten one it will also pull the tail of the fruit. You can also gently try to turn the tail around, but not much (if the fruit is ripe, the tail is easy to tear off). If he sits tight, it means it is a green pineapple.
How to choose the right fruit, ideally can tell the appearance of its pulp. If possible, it is better to ask the seller to make a small incision. The ripe pineapple pulp will have a rich golden color. An unripe fruit will have a pale color.
How to store pineapple
Having figured out how to choose the right ripe pineapple, it will not hurt to find out a little about the rules for its storage.
If the fruit you bought is still not ripe - it does not matter. Pineapple may well ripen at home. It is only necessary to keep it in a dry room at room temperature. Two to three days to ripen the fetus will be enough.
Ripe pineapple should be stored in the refrigerator. There is an opinion that in this case the fruit inevitably loses its useful and tasteful qualities, but this is not entirely true. And there is no choice: when stored in other conditions, the ripe fruit will simply deteriorate. Therefore, it is best to put pineapple bought for future use in a paper bag and place it in the refrigerator compartment for storing fruits. The package is needed so that other products on the shelves of the refrigerator do not acquire pineapple flavor. Periodically, the fetus will need to be turned over so that it does not begin to spit. You can keep ripe fruit in the refrigerator for no more than a week.
If you want to keep the pineapple for a longer time, it is recommended to first peel it and cut into small pieces, and then freeze it. The fruit, prepared in this way, can be in the freezer for up to three months.
How to peel a pineapple
There are peculiarities in how to peel a pineapple. "How to choose the right fruit?" - This is not the only question, sometimes confusing.
The simplest method of cleaning involves simply cutting the fruit into round "washers" with a sharp knife, and then peeling each of them. The middle of each circle is also desirable to remove - it is inedible.
However, many people don’t like this option due to the fact that quite a lot of tasty and healthy juice is lost with it. To avoid this, it is advised to carefully cut the spiky casing from the fruit, then remove the core with a special knife and only then cut the flesh into circles. However, this method requires not only the availability of special devices, but also experience.
Thai way to peel pineapple
The most effective way to clean pineapple is considered Thai. First, cut off the lower part from the fruit so that it is convenient to put on a board or plate. Then, holding the pineapple by the upper leaves, you need to carefully cut the skin from the fruit into thin slices, moving the narrow and sharp knife from top to bottom. If at the same time “eyes” remain in some places - it does not matter. Having cut off the skin, carefully remove all other dense growths with a knife - if you look closely, you will see that they lie on continuously curved lines. Holding the fruit by a bunch of leaves, you need to make small cuts just above and below such a line at a slight angle to the “eye”. After that, you can carefully remove the "wedges" with the remnants of the spikes. The same should be done with the rest of the growths.
A small pineapple prepared in this way can be served on the table as a decoration. However, to make it convenient to eat this fruit, you need to work a little more and chop it.
How to chop pineapple
For an effective presentation to the table, unpeeled fruit is advised to divide along into four parts. Each pulp should be carefully cut with one piece of whole flesh, leaving a section with leaves on top.
Quarters should be carefully removed and removed from them a solid fibrous core. After that, the processed pieces of pulp should be put back into the “boats” from the skin, carefully placed on a dish and put on the table. Pineapple served in this way looks very impressive, and pieces of pulp are completely ready for eating.
If you are planning to buy a pineapple, how to choose, properly peel and chop this fruit, then at any feast it will certainly not be left without attention.