Pineapple is a tropical fruit that’s native to the Caribbean and Central and South America, according to the University of Florida. It’s part of the bromeliad family of plants, which includes Spanish moss and tillandsia, also known as air plants.
The sweet-tart flavor fruit is incredibly healthy and has lots of nutritional content from myriad essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, folate, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Picking the perfect, ripe pineapple at the grocery store can be a bit of a challenge. Unlike other fruits, there’s much more to check beyond its color and appearance. Here are 5 simple tips for picking the right pineapple at your local supermarket.
- Check the color
Healthy green leaves are always considered a sign of freshness when shopping for pineapple in the local supermarket or market.
Ideally, the exterior should have a greenish-yellow hue, which can indicate that it’s fully ripe.
This is because pineapples slowly change from green to yellow as they ripen, and they stop ripening after being picked.
However, green pineapples may be ripe in some cases, which is why it’s important to consider other factors beyond colour when choosing your pineapple.
- Give it a squeeze
Much like other fruits, the texture of your pineapple can be a dead giveaway to help determine whether it’s fully ripe.
A ripe pineapple should have a firm shell but be slightly soft with a bit of giving when you squeeze it.
Pineapples that are completely solid or hard when squeezed are unlikely to be fully ripe.
- Smell it
One of the best ways to tell if a pineapple is ripe and ready to enjoy is by smelling it.
Ripe pineapples typically have a sweet smell at the bottom, right near the base of the fruit.
If a pineapple doesn’t have any odour, it may mean that it’s not completely ripe.
On the other hand, a pungent or bitter odour often indicates that the pineapple may be overripe.
- Assess the weight
Checking the weight of your pineapple can be an effective strategy to help measure ripeness.
Look for a pineapple that feels heavy for its size, which often means that it’s riper.
In many cases, a heavy pineapple is a sign that it’s juicier, which also means that it’s likely to be sweeter and more palatable.
- Pull on the fronds
An easy way to tell if a pineapple is fully ripe is to gently tug at the fronds, which are the large leaves that protrude from the top of the pineapple.
According to some, the fronds should pull out very easily if a pineapple is ripe and ready to enjoy.
Fronds that are difficult to pull may be a sign that pineapple is not fully ripe.