How to Cut a Pineapple

My lovely sister, Nathalie, came for a visit from Oahu, Hawai'i, and she brought me a huge, nice and ripe Dole® pineapple straight from the Dole® Plantation in Oahu. Immediately I began to think of recipes I could do with the pineapple but before I do anything, I would have to cut it first.

The pineapple came with instructions that Dole® suggests on how to cut it. I've also found other suggestions, such as this one from howtocutapinapple.com, however I find that the way my mom taught me is the best. I like this method of cutting the pineapple because I save a lot more of the "meat" of the fruit and it seems to yield more--but maybe it's just me.

1. First, with a serrated knife, cut off the top of the pineapple.
2. Stand the pineapple up and cut the skin from the sides in downward slices.
3. Cut in about 1/8" deep, just enough so that most of the "eyes" are removed, however don't worry if some remain.
4. With the tip of a peeler or a paring knife, remove the remaining eyes.
5. Next, lay the pineapple on its side and cut it in half.
6. Then, cut the halves in half again. You will be left with 4 quarters.
7. Stand the quarters up and slice straight down the core of each quarter to remove the core.
8. Finally, lay the quarters back down and slice them to your desired thickness. You can use fresh pineapple slices for fruit salads, or for a Pineapple Tart.

   If you'd rather have whole, round slices, skip steps 4 to 7 and simply slice the pineapple into rounds then cut out the core from each slice with a pairing knife.