Now that we’re just a few short months from summer, it’s time to get excited about summer fruit. One of our favorites is pineapple, but picking them can be difficult. When it comes to pineapple, when it’s not ripe, it doesn’t taste right. Underripe ones are woody and tart while overripe ones can taste off. So, how do you pick the perfect pineapple? Here are five ways to tell when a pineapple is ripe.
Color
The outside of the pineapple should be a light or medium-yellow color. While a bit of green is fine, avoid ones that are mostly green, dark yellow, or orange.
Weight
In general, ripe fruit is heavy for its size and the same goes for pineapple. Heavier pineapple means it’s juicer and sweeter.
Smell
Sniff the bottom of the pineapple and if it’s ripe it will smell sweet. If it doesn’t have a smell, it’s probably underripe and if it smells weird it may be overripe.
Texture
Squeeze the pineapple and if it feels firm with a little give, it’s ripe. Rock hard pineapple is underripe and squishy ones are overripe.
Fronds
Fronds, the spiky green top of the pineapple, should come off when you tug gently on one of the leaves when it’s ripe.
