Pineapple Spiral - How To Do It

 

When you see pineapples in supermarkets or green grocers – have you ever  been thinking that you want to buy one but the idea of having to remove the skin and black eyes puts you off  (oh..well, canned pineapples are a lot easier)? In Thailand you can buy pineapples that have the skin and black eyes removed which is very convenient. I had never done this myself until recently – I mean a few years ago - when New Zealand has allowed imports of pineapples from Asia. It will get easier with practice.

 

This is how we remove the skin and  eyes from a pineapple in Thailand (and also in many parts of Asia, I believe). You will need two very sharp knives for this process.

 

Cut both ends off.

 

Remove the skin with big knife – not too deep though. The eyes will be there but we will take them out later.

  

Just find the spiral lines on the pineapple after the skin is removed and cut the eyes out one by one (or two at a time) diagonally with the smaller knife so you do not waste too much fruit flesh.

 

We have our pineapples cold with spicy salt and sugar:

 

1 teaspoon salt (we use Himalayan Harvest’s Mineral Salt)

4 tablespoons white sugar

 ¼ - ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes

Combine all of the above in a glass jar and shake – spoon out as you need as the left over can keep for weeks. If you are in industrial & adventurous mood, you can use one or two fresh red mince chillies instead of the flakes.