Confused with looking for a good pineapple

[chubbs]

I thought it was like bananas.But I read never to buy a green pineapple cause it will spoil before it turns brown/gold.Every store I go they are deep green.I don't get it.I tried the trick where you pick it up by holding a center leaf.It came off easily,so I guess it's ripe.But over 90% is still a deep green.I ripped the crown off & sat the pineapple upside down few hrs ago.
I don't get the "fruits are healthiest when picked fully rippend from the plant."
Wouldn't most fruits spoil by the time they get to market if they are harvested that late?

 

[Steve Kroll]

I don't buy the leaf thing. I've found the best method for picking out a pineapple is simply to give it a good sniff. It should smell of pineapple. It should also be golden brown in color with a little bit of green.

 

[jabbur]

+1 what Steve said. I sniff. If I can smell the pineapple with a quick sniff, I buy. I do the same with cantelope.

 

[Andy M.]

...I don't get the "fruits are healthiest when picked fully rippend from the plant."...

Pineapples don't continue to ripen after harvesting. Bananas, on the other hand, only ripen after being cut fro the tree.

Pulling leaves doesn't work. Sniff the bottom and decide.

 

[chubbs]

That's what I did.My pineapple is a darker green then the one the guy holds in the vid.
WHEN IS IT RIPE? PINEAPPLES - YouTube
Hope I don't have to wait a whole week lol.The ones at my local stores come from panama & are made by fyffes.I used to get mine canned.But since I quit smoking,it always has a metallic taste.So i'm only getting them whole now.

 

[Skittle68]

This information comes from the dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii.

Pineapples will get softer after picking, but not any sweeter or riper, so you want to pick the ripest one, that isn't starting to go bad. A pineapple with a strong smelling bottom can indicate that fermentation is starting to take place. That pineapple is starting to go bad. The color doesn't necessarily mean anything. Pineapples start to turn gold when they are ripe, but fully ripe pineapples can still have green on them, and the leaf thing doesn't indicate much except possibly how long it's been sitting on the shelf. Here is how pickers tell if the pineapple is ripe: as a pineapple grows, the little round eyes on the outside are bigger at the bottom and smaller at the top. When a pineapple is perfectly ripe, these eyes are going to be all the same size. THAT is how to find the sweetest ones. So same size eyes on the outside, and one that doesn't have a strong smell is your best bet.

 

[Skittle68]

That's what I did.My pineapple is a darker green then the one the guy holds in the vid.
WHEN IS IT RIPE? PINEAPPLES - YouTube
Hope I don't have to wait a whole week lol.The ones at my local stores come from panama & are made by fyffes.I used to get mine canned.But since I quit smoking,it always has a metallic taste.So i'm only getting them whole now.

This guy does not know what he's talking about when it comes to pineapples. They do NOT sweeten any more after picking. The produce guy he talked to at the grocery store was right. They are ripe and ready to eat when they are picked. You have to look for the ones that are picked at the right time to find the good ones.

 

[Skittle68]

What that guy is saying is essentially like saying to leave your apples on the counter until they are brown and wrinkled because that's when they have the best flavor lol. You would laugh at someone who told you that, but since we don't know as much about pineapples, it does sound kind of logical.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

The "leaf thing" has worked perfectly for me.

 

[GLC]

You are unlikely to see a fully ripe pineapple in most stores. They are too subject to damage and spoilage in shipment. You can't judge by color. Like oranges, they are treated to "degreen" them to suit the market. You mostly have to trust your supply chain. But they are always pushing the harvest date a bit, because you can artificially speed maturity and get a second crop. In my local grocery, the store prepares trimmed pineapple in a bag, using the same stock as the display of whole, which is most often Dole brand. So you do get to "see inside" the current lot by examining the prepared product. They rarely have gassed them to a full golden color, which makes me suspect they are pick at the first moment they can get away with. I don't know much about refined cultivars, so I don't know if the commercialized varieties are bred to firmness as commercial tomatoes are. But I would guess that, again like most commercial produce, they are hybrids and so are of uniform size and all ripen together. (Open pollinated varieties are not as productive but exhibit individual differences in size, ripening, and pest and disease resistance.) So I would guess it's also like oranges in that, no matter that the degree of degreening varies within one lot, they are all equally ripe or unripe, and no external sign would reliably reveal differences.

(Most people have never seen a ripe lime, either. They are yellow.)

 

[chubbs]

This information comes from the dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii.

Pineapples will get softer after picking, but not any sweeter or riper, so you want to pick the ripest one, that isn't starting to go bad. A pineapple with a strong smelling bottom can indicate that fermentation is starting to take place. That pineapple is starting to go bad. The color doesn't necessarily mean anything. Pineapples start to turn gold when they are ripe, but fully ripe pineapples can still have green on them, and the leaf thing doesn't indicate much except possibly how long it's been sitting on the shelf. Here is how pickers tell if the pineapple is ripe: as a pineapple grows, the little round eyes on the outside are bigger at the bottom and smaller at the top. When a pineapple is perfectly ripe, these eyes are going to be all the same size. THAT is how to find the sweetest ones. So same size eyes on the outside, and one that doesn't have a strong smell is your best bet.

Thanks!I will start going by that

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Olfactory & Aromas

Buonasera,

My Grandmom had told me long ago, "never buy a fruit or vegetable that doesn´t exhibit its fragrance to you" ... She added, "And never buy anything without using your olfactory".

Ciao.
Kind regards,
Margi.

 

[Mel!]

I think, if they are a bit green it is no harm to buy them. They should not be all over dark green though.

The things to avoid in my opinion are ones with soft brown coloured bits on them. Otherwise, I dont think it is so easy to make a mistake. Some might be riper than others, but I think they can cover a range of ripenes stages and still taste good.

Mel

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I also avoid pineapples with overly soft spots. Pressing on skin should flex it a bit but should not be really soft and squishy.

I'm surprised that the leaf pull test works for me but nobody else. I get perfect pineapples every time. (I get mine at Asian markets. I wonder if they have suppliers different than mainstream supermarkets.)

 

[Cheryl J]

I use the leaf pull test, too. It's always a little tough to pull out, but if I really have to work at it I'll choose another one. And I also agree that the bottom line is the nose knows - if I can smell pineapple, it's good, and I've rarely been disappointed.

 

[Andy M.]

If most pineapples are decent and the leaves pull out of most decent pineapples, chances are good you'll get a good one. Even if it's not an accurate indicator, it's going to be right some of the time. Besides, you never know if the pineapple you didn't pick because the leaves stayed in is much better.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

My method: Choose a few good looking pineapples, and try to pick one up by one of the middling leaves. If I can pick up the pineapple by its leaf I pick another one. If the leaf pulls out I buy that pineapple.

 

[FrankZ]

If most pineapples are decent and the leaves pull out of most decent pineapples, chances are good you'll get a good one. Even if it's not an accurate indicator, it's going to be right some of the time. Besides, you never know if the pineapple you didn't pick because the leaves stayed in is much better.

Or.. don't confuse correlation with causation.

 

[Andy M.]

Or.. don't confuse correlation with causation.

I was going to say that but decided to be verbose and indirect instead.

 

[Skittle68]

Or.. don't confuse correlation with causation.

I agree. Most pineapples you buy are going to be fairly decent, so any method you use is going to get you a decent pineapple, but I go by the info I got at the pineapple plantation. Makes the most sense to me anyway. I got to see pineapples that weren't ripe, and the size difference of the little eyes on the outside was very obvious.

Another tip for fresh pineapple is to rinse it after you cut it. The pineapple creates acid as a defense mechanism when you cut it, so if you rinse that off, it won't burn your lips and tongue