Unlike bananas and avocados, pineapples are one of the fruits that don’t continue to ripen after they’ve been picked. What you grab at the grocery store is what you’re stuck with. That is why it’s important to choose your pineapple wisely.
Ashley Paige (@ashley.paiige), a lifestyle, beauty, and food influencer, shared what she claims is a sure-fire way to pick a perfectly ripe pineapple every time. She posted the hack to TikTok on May 11, and it has since amassed 60,000 views.
“If your mom didn’t teach you this, I will today,” Paige starts, holding up a golden-yellow pineapple. “Sure, you can go by color and scent, but the easiest way is just to pull out the fronds.”
She proceeds to demonstrate by easily plucking three fronds out of the top of the pineapple.
“Fronds that pull up easy like this means the pineapple’s right. It genuinely works every single time,” she promises. “You will never get a bad pineapple when you use this method.”
The frond test is often shared by people on social media. Another TikToker named Ava (@avamadeleinee) posted a video of herself searching for the perfect pineapple in the grocery store. She tugged on the fronds of two different pineapples before being met with success on her third try. “Oop, ripe pineapple” she exclaimed, grabbing the pineapple easily-pluckable fronds to take home with her.
Smell test
While this is one way to check if your pineapple is ripe, a representative for Fresh
Del Monte shared with Simply Recipes the “best way.”
Melissa Mackay, Vice President of Marketing at Fresh Del Monte North America, told the outlet that a pleasant smell should be permeating the pineapple’s base. Think tropical. “If the smell is fermented or sour, the pineapple may be overripe or starting to spoil,” Mackay told the outlet. And then no smell means that the pineapple isn’t ready yet.
What color is it?
Color serves as another good indicator of ripeness level. If a pineapple is mostly green, it’s probably underripe. But if the pineapple’s base is orange, it’s likely too ripe. And golden-yellow pineapples are just right, according to Simply Recipes.
@ashley.paiige how to pick a ripe pineapple everytime 🫶🏼🍍 #lifehacks #pineapple #pineapplerecipe #pineapplehack #grocerystore #grocerystorehacks #thingsyoushouldknow #themoreyouknow ♬ original sound – ashley paige
Other methods
The color and smell tests are perhaps the most popular pineapple ripeness “tests.” But there are a few others. According to Allrecipes, you should make a beeline for heavy pineapples, as those will likely be the juiciest, as well as pineapples that are slightly squeezable.
We’re in the heart of pineapple season (March through July), so it’s likely more difficult to pick a bad pineapple right now. However, if you do get stuck with one, there are a few things you can do with it. According to the Kitchn, cooking and baking with underripe pineapples should bring out their sweetness.
“The trick is to cook it very lightly, so the pineapple becomes a bit sweeter, but not fully cooked through. A quick trip to a low oven is enough to bring out the sweetness in an unripe pineapple,” the Kitchn recommends.
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