How To Pick A Good Pineapple With A Simple Squeeze 

Pineapples inspire many questions. Why are they so spiky? Why are they called pineapples? And (perhaps most importantly) how the heck can you tell if you're picking a good one? It's hard to beat the juicy, flavor-packed bite of a great pineapple, but the tropical fruit's prickly exterior reveals very little about the quality of the fruit inside. This can make selecting a good pineapple that will be ripe before next year feel like a game of Russian roulette. Luckily, there's a simple trick to picking perfectly ripe pineapples that has nothing to do with appearance: the squeeze test.

The squeeze test is pretty self-explanatory — we've all probably done it with everything from avocados to peaches. Pick up the produce item, give it a gentle squeeze to test the ripeness level, and that's it. However, when conducting any squeeze test you have to know what to look (or rather, feel) for — a ripe pear feels very different from a ripe apple, for example. 

In the case of pineapples, the flesh should be firm but not rock hard. Even a very ripe pineapple will still be relatively hard, but if it doesn't give at all when you squeeze it's most likely underripe. On the other hand, if the flesh gives more than a little bit with a gentle squeeze, it's probably past its prime. 

In addition to looking (or rather, feeling) for a fruit that gives just so slightly when squeezed, there are a few other easy ways to ensure you're taking home the best pineapple possible. First, pick a pineapple that feels relatively heavy for its size. A heavier pineapple is usually a juicier pineapple and therefore a more delicious pineapple. 

Pick a fruit that's more yellow in color with some green. If you're still unsure, try pulling off one of the smaller inner leaves in the pineapple's spiky green crown. If it comes out easily, the pineapple is probably ready to eat. Finally, there's the good old sniff test: A ripe pineapple should smell pleasantly sweet and fruity when you sniff the bottom.

Whether you plan to use it in a pineapple and mayo sandwich or showstopper pineapple fried rice, with these simple tips and tricks in mind you're ready to make a prime pineapple selection in almost any produce aisle. However, if you do end up with an underripe pineapple, all is not lost — we suggest using this simple storage hack for sweeter pineapples.