Home › Home & Kitchen › Kitchen & Dining › Cutlery & Knife Accessories › Chef's Knives How to Cut a Pineapple Published: July 9, 2026 · Updated: July 9, 2026
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Slice off the leafy crown and the base, stand the pineapple upright, and cut the prickly skin off in strips from top to bottom following the curve. Then quarter it lengthwise, cut out the firm core from each wedge, and slice the flesh into chunks or spears.
Recommended Top and tail, cut the skin off in downward strips, quarter, remove the core, then chunk — A pineapple looks awkward but breaks down in a fixed order once it's stable, and the key is to make a flat base first so it can't roll under the knife. With a sharp chef's knife, cut about a centimeter off the leafy top and off the bottom so both ends are flat, then stand it on end on a board. Working top to bottom, slice the skin away in strips, following the fruit's curve and going just deep enough to remove the brown 'eyes' — or take a thinner cut and flick out any remaining eyes with the knife tip. Lay the peeled pineapple down, cut it in half and then into quarters lengthwise, and you'll see the paler, tougher core running along the inner edge of each wedge; slice that strip off. Now cut each cored quarter into bite-size chunks, or into long spears. A very ripe pineapple (fragrant base, slight give) is sweetest and easiest to cut. Save the core for smoothies or infusing water rather than binning it, and refrigerate cut pineapple in a sealed container.
