Ripe pineapple how to find out. Delicious and ripe pineapple: how to determine when buying

The tropical fruit is available in many stores. Juicy pulp is hidden under the dense peel. In order not to be disappointed when eating a fruit, you need to know how to choose a pineapple. Some tricks and guidelines will help determine how mature the fetus is.

In contact with

When the pineapple is sent by sea, it is harvested while still green. His maturation proceeds along the way. A suitable time for harvesting fruits is the period April - June, as well as December - January. During these months, pineapples are the most delicious.

Thinking about how to choose a ripe and sweet pineapple, you should understand the main indicators of product quality. Signs of a ripe fruit include:

1. Externally, the crust may be yellowish, slightly reddish or brown in color.
2. symmetrical shape.
3. The bottom of the fruit is hard and dry.
4. Ripe fruit should be heavier than it looks.
5. The eyes are large and pronounced. There are no spots or traces of decay on the scales.

Small pineapples are sweeter than large ones. The same applies to varieties whose leaves are prickly.

When figuring out how to choose a ripe pineapple, you should be aware of the signs of an unripe and overripe fruit. In the first case, the fruit is distinguished by its hardness, green tail and lack of flavor. The presence of spots on the crust, the softness of the fruit, the appearance of dents, and a pungent odor indicate an overripe pineapple.

Pineapple variety with prickly leaves

How to properly evaluate on the counter?

When thinking about how to choose the right ripe pineapple, it is important to know what to look for on the counter. There is no way to cut the product and try it. Therefore, you will have to focus on other indicators. For the right choice you should:

1. Visually evaluate the quality. There are no stains or scratches. If the scales are greenish, this is not a sign of immaturity. A similar color is acceptable, but it must be uniform.
2. Feel. It should be moderately soft. When pressed, no dents are formed.
3. Tap the fruit several times. A sign of ripeness is a dull sound.
4. Find out the weight. Fruit should be heavy. A light fruit is characterized by a loss of moisture, which leads to its rapid drying.

The above parameters will tell you how to choose a sweet pineapple.

The fetus must be free of any damage. Too low a price should alert.

How to store at home?

1. Turned upside down. The leaves are cut, leaving a few centimeters to the base, turned with this part down and placed in a dark place.
2. with other fruits. The fruit is placed with others. It is allowed to combine only fruits, you should not mix them with vegetables.
3. In parchment. It is necessary to wrap the product in several layers of parchment. It should be checked daily for signs of decay.
4. One way to store pineapple at home is to use a cloth bag. The fruit descends inside and is placed in a dark place. Sun exposure to the product should be avoided.

Can you put it in the refrigerator?

The question of whether it is possible to store pineapple in the refrigerator arises immediately after purchase. Such preservation is allowed, but subject to certain factors:

1. The air temperature should be 7-8 degrees.
2. Humidity is about 90%.

Many models of refrigerators have a special compartment for storing vegetables and fruits. When choosing where to store pineapple, it is worth stopping at this option.

When figuring out how to store pineapple, you need to highlight several suitable ways:

1. Whole. The fruit is located with other fruits.
2. In a bag or paper. The fruit is wrapped in material, air should flow inside, it is not necessary to tighten it strongly.
3. In a container. Previously, the fruit is cut and put in an airtight container.

When thinking about where to store pineapple at home, you need to choose a method depending on the period during which the product must remain fresh and tasty.

How long does it keep fresh and tasty?

Another important issue is how long a pineapple can be stored. If it is in the refrigerator, then it will be fresh for a long time - up to 2 months or more. Pre-peeled fruit is stored for several days only in the refrigerator.

When you learned how to choose a delicious pineapple, you should familiarize yourself with the procedure for peeling the fruit. The bottom is cut off, installed upside down. The skin is cut thinly. The eyes are removed with a knife. The resulting barrel is cut crosswise. The core is removed, the fruit is cut into arbitrary pieces. How to eat mango - read

Tasty and healthy pineapple is no longer a curiosity on our table, but many are still afraid of its exoticism. In fact, it is not difficult to look after a ripe, high-quality fruit in a store or on the market if you know how. Choosing the right pineapple, easy to peel and cut it, serving it to the table, and saving it for future use will be no problem if you take into account a few simple recommendations.

The main "hint" is the price

No matter how trivial it sounds, but first of all, you should pay attention to how much a pineapple costs. How to choose the right fresh and ripe fruit can tell the price that the seller asks for it.

In order to deliver these fruits fresh to the shelves, they are usually transported by plane, and this is not cheap for the supplier. Accordingly, the price of a good pineapple will be at the same level.

In the event that the importer chose to order the transportation of pineapples by sea, they can cost a little less. However, then it must be taken into account that this method of transportation takes a considerable time. While on the road, the fruits may well overripe. Therefore, if the seller focuses exclusively on the favorable price of pineapples, it is worth examining them very carefully before succumbing to his persuasion and buying.

At the same time, the statement "expensive means good" is also not always true. It is possible that the seller simply inflated the price of a very mediocre product.

The conclusion is obvious: the price will serve as a good clue how to choose the right ripe pineapple, but you should not blindly focus only on it. Still, it doesn’t hurt to study the fetus additionally.

How to tell if a pineapple is ripe by smell

You can determine whether a pineapple is suitable for eating by smell, holding the fruit at arm's length. An unripe fruit will not smell at all. But the aroma of a good ripe pineapple should be pleasant, tender, slightly sweet.

If the fruit smells too rich, even cloying, it is most likely overripe. It is not subject to long-term storage. It is better to choose a different pineapple if you do not intend to serve it immediately after purchase. In addition, it is possible that the fruit began to ferment - in this case, it is not suitable for food at all.

How to choose the right pineapple

The criteria for choosing this exotic fruit is not limited to price and smell. There are other secrets on how to determine the ripeness of a pineapple.

It is worth carefully examining the fruit that you like. Ripe pineapple scales tend to be brownish, yellowish, or orange-gray in color. A greenish color may be evidence that the pineapple has not ripened (however, not always). There should also be no whitish dots between the scales of the fruit - this is how the mold manifests itself. In a quality fruit, the scales will be elastic and dense, but at the same time slightly soft to the touch. They will be too hard in a green fruit. If they are fairly soft and easily pressed inward, the pineapple is most likely rotten.

Another way to spot a ripe pineapple is like choosing a ripe watermelon. It is enough just to lightly pat the fruit with the palm of your hand. A ripe fruit with juicy pulp will make a dull sound. An "empty" sound will tell you that the pineapple is dry.

In addition, the fresh fruit has beautiful green leaves. If you lightly pull on one of them, it should easily separate from the rod. A leaf of a green pineapple will hold on tight, and in a rotten one, it will pull the tail of the fruit along with it. You can also gently try to turn the tail around, but not much (if the fruit is ripe, the tail is easy to tear off). If it sits tight, then it's a green pineapple.

How to choose this fruit correctly, ideally, the appearance of its pulp can tell. If possible, it is better to ask the seller to make a small incision. The flesh of a ripe pineapple will have a rich golden color. In an unripe fruit, its shade will be pale.

How to store pineapple

Having figured out how to choose the right ripe pineapple, it does not hurt to learn a little about the rules for storing it.

If the purchased fruit still turned out to be unripe, it doesn’t matter. Pineapple may well ripen at home. You just need to keep it in a dry room at room temperature. Two or three days for the fruit to ripen will be enough.

Ripe pineapple should be stored in the refrigerator. There is an opinion that in this case the fruit will inevitably lose its useful and taste qualities, but this is not entirely true. Yes, and there is no choice: when stored in other conditions, a ripe fruit will simply deteriorate. Therefore, it would be best to put a pineapple bought for future use in a paper bag and place it in the compartment of the refrigerator designed to store fruit. The bag is needed so that other products on the shelves do not acquire a pineapple flavor. Periodically, the fruit will need to be turned over so that it does not start to spit. You can keep ripe fruit in the refrigerator for no more than a week.

If you want to keep the pineapple for a longer time, it is recommended to first peel it and cut it into small pieces, and then freeze it. A fruit prepared in this way can be kept in the freezer for up to three months.

How to peel a pineapple

There are some peculiarities in how pineapple should be peeled. "How to choose the right fruit?" - not the only question, sometimes perplexing.

The easiest peeling method involves simply cutting the fruit into round "washers" with a sharp knife, and then peeling each of them. It is also desirable to remove the middle from each circle - it is inedible.

However, many do not like this option due to the fact that quite a lot of tasty and healthy juice is lost with it. To avoid this, it is advised to carefully cut off the spiny shell from the fruit, then remove the core with a special knife and only then cut the flesh into circles. However, this method requires not only the presence of special devices, but also experience.

Thai way to peel pineapple

The most effective way to peel pineapple is considered to be Thai. To begin with, you should cut off the lower part from the fruit so that it is convenient to put it on a board or plate. Then, holding the pineapple by the upper leaves, you need to carefully cut the skin from the fruit into thin slices, moving a narrow and sharp knife from top to bottom. If at the same time "eyes" remain in some places - it does not matter. After cutting off the skin, you should carefully remove all other dense growths with a knife - if you look closely, you will see that they lie on continuously curved lines. Holding the fruit by a bunch of leaves, you need to make small cuts just above and below such a line at a slight angle to the "eye". After that, you can carefully remove the "wedge" with the remnants of the spikes. The same should be done with the rest of the growths.

A small pineapple prepared in this way can be served on the table as a decoration. However, in order to make it convenient to eat this fruit, you need to work a little more and cut it.

How to cut a pineapple

For a spectacular serving to the table, the unpeeled fruit is advised to be divided lengthwise into four parts. From each, carefully cut out the entire pulp in one piece, leaving an area with leaves on top.

The quarters must be carefully removed and the hard fibrous core removed from them. After that, the processed pieces of pulp must be put back into the "boats" of the skin, carefully placed on a dish and put on the table. Served in this way, pineapple looks very impressive, and the pieces of pulp are completely ready to eat.

If you know, when you are going to buy a pineapple, how to choose, properly peel and cut this fruit, then at any feast it will certainly not be left without attention.

The leaders in growing and exporting pineapple to Russia are the Philippines, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Thailand. Before reaching the consumer's table, these exotic fruits make a long journey by sea or air. How to choose a ripe pineapple and how to distinguish it from others?

The quality of pineapples largely depends on the delivery method. The fruits delivered by sea are harvested while still green, with the expectation that they will ripen during the journey. Their taste and aroma is less pronounced than those of fruits picked ripe and delivered by plane.

On a note. From April to June and from December to January, the most delicious pineapples are harvested.

When buying, it is recommended to give preference to fruits from supermarkets, since they provide the most comfortable conditions for their storage: compliance with temperature and humidity. On the shelves of the vegetable departments in the supermarket, unripe, overripe and ripe fruits can be found. Their condition can be determined:

• in appearance of tops and skins;
• by the smell and the sound made, while patting the fetus.

Signs of an unripe pineapple

On a note. The use of unripe pineapple is fraught with unpleasant consequences, because it can provoke indigestion.

The following signs indicate that the pineapple is not yet ripe:

1. The fruit is very firm to the touch.
2. The eyes of the fetus are poorly developed, the scales have a greenish color.
3. The characteristic aroma of pineapple is very weak or absent.
4. The green tail crowning the top of the fruit cannot be scrolled.
5. Separate leaves are pulled out with great difficulty from the fruit tail.
6. When cut, the flesh is pale, almost white, and has a pungent taste.

If it is not possible to buy a fully ripe fruit, then you can buy an unripe one and let it ripen at home. To do this, it is left at room temperature, tilting its tail down, for several days until fully ripe.

Signs of an overripe pineapple

Signs of an overripe fruit can be caused by a long shelf life or a violation of their storage conditions. With high humidity in warehouses or temperatures below normal, the fruits are prone to rapid deterioration, their taste is reduced, the flesh becomes dark and watery. The following signs indicate that the pineapple is overripe:

1. The fruit is soft when pressed, after pressing a dent remains.
2. There are dark spots on the crust.
3. Wrinkled, red-brown skin.
4. The sultan of the fruit turned yellow, the leaves are easily pulled out of it.
5. The fruit makes an empty sound when patted.
6. The aroma of the fruit is sharp, fermented, gives off alcohol or vinegar.

How to Identify a Perfectly Ripe Pineapple

Pineapple fruits, depending on the variety, can have an oval or cylindrical shape and reach a weight of up to 5 kg. The top of the fruit is crowned with a bunch of hard green leaves, the peel is golden yellow, reddish or yellow-brown.

When shopping, everyone wants the purchase to be of high quality. This is especially important for food products. Consider how to choose a pineapple, what you should pay attention to. This thick-skinned fruit has a wonderful sweet and sour taste, wonderful aroma, and also contains dietary fiber, trace elements and vitamins. It contains bromelain, a highly active proteolytic enzyme that helps the body absorb the protein substances of food. Therefore, pineapple is recommended for a plentiful feast. Having a high nutritional value, this fruit is low in calories. In Russia, it has become a traditional element of the New Year's table, since 30% of the total annual volume of this tropical fruit is imported into our country in December. Pineapple season continues until April, although you can buy them throughout the year.

He needs to be sniffed

To choose a good pineapple, you need to pick it up and evaluate it from top to bottom. The crown (sultan or crest) of the fruit is usually up to 10 cm long. What does the crown of a ripe fruit look like? It should be sticking out, green, and most importantly - it can be scrolled 1-2 cm in one direction or another horizontally. Dried tips are allowed. If the pineapple is ripe, some of the leaves can be easily pulled out. If, after tearing off one sheet, others began to fall out, then the fruit is overripe. In an unripe crown, it is difficult to thin out.

80-90% of pineapples in Russia are supplied from Costa Rica. The remaining 10% are in Ecuador, the Philippines, Panama, Vietnam, and Thailand. Ripe fruits that have reached consumer maturity are delivered by planes and in a day they reach the customer. But most often tropical fruits are transported by sea, it takes 7-10 days. Therefore, pineapples are harvested when their shape and size correspond to the parameters of this variety, but at the same time they are not yet fully ripe. In the holds of ships, the temperature is maintained at + 8 ... + 9 ° С, when it decreases, there is a possibility of fruit damage by fungal infections, the pulp becomes watery, when it rises, the fruits begin to ripen rapidly and rot. Pineapples harvested too early do not gain enough flavor and aroma after ripening.

To choose the right ripe pineapple, smell it. If the aroma spreads at arm's length, most likely the fruit has been aromatized. If there is a smell of wine, it is overripe, the fermentation process has begun inside. Sometimes trade workers, having discovered this, wash the pineapples rotting inside, dry them and put them up for sale again. After this treatment, the fruit does not smell at all.

How to choose a pineapple (video)

We focus on weight and color

Pineapple varieties are divided into more or less transportable. Spanish red belongs to the maturing varieties, due to which it is harvested more ripe. Before a long journey, fruits are placed in boxes in 1 layer, carefully inspecting. The stalk is treated with an antiseptic, since most often rotting begins with it. Depending on the variety, pineapples weigh from 500 g to 10 kg. The mass of exported fruits is usually 0.8-2 kg. How to choose the right ripe fruit? Estimate its weight in your hand. If it is weighty, then it is dense inside - this is a sign of ripeness. As a rule, among those fruits that were plucked before full ripening, medium-sized ones managed to absorb all the vitamins on the plantation.

How to determine the ripeness of a pineapple by its peel? Opt for fruits with greyish-orange, yellow scales. Don't let the unripe looking fruit with greenish patches fool you. If the fruit exudes aroma - take it. The Thai people prefer the pineapple variety, which always looks unripe, but tastes excellent. If the fruit is green and its aroma is barely perceptible, it is not ripe. If the peel has brown spots, and there is mold between the segments, the product is spoiled. This is also evidenced by the wrinkled skin of the fetus. When pressing on the scales of an overripe pineapple, dents form. The unripe fruit is very hard.

When choosing a fruit, pay attention to its lower part - the stalk, it should be dense. If you find looseness and the slightest signs of mold, then it is rotting inside. A pineapple ripened on a bush has a small and wrinkled stalk.

Pineapples growing in the wild contain many seeds up to 3 mm long. In industrial cultivation, their formation is avoided, preventing pollination: protective caps are put on each inflorescence. Therefore, it is very rare to find seeds in these fruits. At the same time, their presence does not mean that the fruit will not be tasty.

How to choose a pineapple and peel it beautifully (video)

Unique taste

Ripe tasty pineapple inside is bright yellow. The unripe flesh is pale, the overripe is pinkish. Eating an unripe fruit causes intestinal upset. You can store the fruit at home at room temperature for 3-10 days. In cut form, it is better not to save it, in extreme cases - in its own juice in the refrigerator. You should not freeze it, because at a temperature of -7 ° C it loses its useful properties and becomes fibrous.

Once harvested, pineapples should not be stored for more than 40 days. Not fully formed fruits with a transitional color of the peel are placed in chambers for 4-6 days for ripening. Withstand a certain regime: temperature + 15 ... + 16 ° C, humidity - 80-85%.

The use of ethylene speeds up the process: 1 liter of gas per 2 m³ of the chamber. It is a mistake to assume that a green pineapple bought in a store can ripen at home. It can only get softer.

For the storage of tropical fruits, the most favorable conditions are provided in supermarkets. However, even there, sometimes unscrupulous workers, wanting to sell a low-quality product, hide flaws in various ways. Pineapple is a rather expensive fruit. In order not to throw money away, do not rush, inspect it carefully.

When choosing a fruit in a store, many people imagine with pleasure how they will eat it, what taste and smell it will have ... But what a disappointment awaits those who bought an unripe fruit! Bananas, of course, will easily ripen on the window, but bought unripe pineapple is a waste of money, because plucked pineapples no longer ripen. Therefore, when planning to buy a pineapple, do not be too lazy to find out how to choose a ripe and tasty fruit by external signs so as not to get into a mess. In the article, we will look at the main indicators of pineapple ripeness and dangerous signs that indicate stale or rotten pineapple.

First, appreciate the smell of pineapple. If the fruit exudes a sweetish aroma, this indicates that it is ripe. An odorless fruit is probably unripe. However, too strong an aroma will indicate that the fruit is rotting or will soon begin to rot. Also, refrain from buying fermented or artificial flavored pineapples. The fruit should smell nice, soft and sweet. The second step is to visually determine the ripeness of the pineapple. The fact is that most varieties have a yellowish color when they reach the desired ripeness, so they are easy to distinguish. However, not all green pineapples are unripe; some species do not turn yellow at all. If it is difficult to determine ripeness by color, focus on the fresh appearance of the fruit: it should not be sluggish, wrinkled, cracked, or, conversely, too small and scanty. Of course, do not be too lazy to carefully examine the fruit for signs of rot - you may not notice the formation of mold or softening of the fruit.

Foliage is also a good indicator of ripeness. Maybe even a better indicator than the peel. Ripe pineapple leaves are healthy, green and fresh looking. Naturally, yellowing leaves are not the best sign for a pineapple. Such a fruit is unlikely to please you with good taste. Unripe pineapples can be given out by tough and obviously young foliage, which cannot be easily pinched off. However, leaves that are easily torn off from the top are a sign of latent rot.

Now pay attention to the shape, weight of the fruit, the structure of the peel and its elasticity. A good pineapple will have a loose but firm, springy skin. A wrinkling and too soft peel that does not hold its shape is a good reason to leave such a fruit on the counter. The relief of the peel of a healthy fruit should be pronounced, and the black eyes in the middle of each shield are a good indicator of a ripe pineapple. It is important to pay attention not only to the size, but also to the weight of the pineapple, since these parameters are not directly dependent on each other. By weight, it is easy to determine the juiciness of the selected pineapple. Take two fruits of the same size that you like: the one that is heavier is more juicy. Proper storage will help keep the fruit fresh. Once you've peeled the pineapple, don't rush to cut it unless you're going to eat it right now. The larger the pieces, the longer the pineapple can last in the refrigerator. You can not cut it at all or divide it into four parts, then the fruit will last for a week or two. You can make yourself a pleasant surprise for the winter - cut the fruit into more or less large pieces and freeze. This method allows you to save pineapple for six months, and the large size of the pieces will not allow it to lose its aromatic properties.