Spiral Cutting Pineapple Gives You More Fruit With Less Waste - Here's How

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Buying a whole pineapple from the store means committing to lots of prep work. Slicing off the skin and cutting the flesh into rings or large chunks is easy enough, but you might notice that this wastes quite a bit of fruit. This is especially true if you attempt to cut out all of the spiky pineapple eyes, which often means cutting out the edible sections around them. The smarter way to break apart the fruit? The spiral cut.

This involves following the eyes' naturally occurring diagonal pattern, thus removing the inedible parts while keeping more of the edible interior. To use this method, cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple, as seen in a YouTube demonstration from Rachael Ray In Season. Next, slice off the tough outer skin as thinly as possible to preserve the maximum amount of fruit. (During this step, it might be tempting to try to remove some of the eyes with the peels, but this will involve cutting deeper and removing larger chunks.)

Once all of the peel is gone, you'll be able to see the brown eyes in diagonal lines. Instead of cutting them out one by one, use a small, sharp knife to carve shallow, V-shaped grooves along those diagonal rows. As you move around the fruit, the cuts create a spiral pattern. From there, you can slice the pineapple into rounds, spears, or chunks, depending on how you plan to use it.

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The spiral technique is pretty straightforward, but there are a few pineapple-cutting tips you might want to keep in mind. The knife you use does matter — consider a serrated bread knife for dealing with the tough peel and a paring knife for cutting the diagonal lines. To easily and efficiently remove the core, a mini circular cookie cutter does the trick.

The spiral cut is also aesthetically pleasing, especially when you're serving pineapple rings. Use any misshapen pieces or chunks for a sweet or savory pineapple recipe. Sliced pineapple should be stored in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator, where it should last up to five days. You can then transfer it to the freezer for longer storage.

Between the peels and cut-out brown pieces, you'll still need to deal with a decent amount of food scraps. When organic waste gets sent to the landfill (instead of being composted), it decomposes and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. So, the pineapple scraps should ideally go in an at-home compost pile or your city's organic waste system. Another solution is making tepache, a Mexican drink that involves fermenting pineapple scraps with water and sugar to create a sweet, bubbly beverage.