How to ripen a pineapple? Your research gives a complete idea about the situation.
You bought a pineapple for its fragrant aroma but with the first bite… eww… it’s too sour and impossible to swallow…
You are tricked!
It happens with everyone. While buying fruits, we often trust our sense of smell and get tricked because what smells sweet actually comes out as sour, bitter, and disappointing. But, don’t worry!
You can ripen a pineapple even when it is cut from the stem. Excited???
Let us make up your excitement a bit more; this guide tells you how to ripen a pineapple, followed by a step-by-step guide on selecting the sweetest and tastiest fresh pineapple from the lot.
Without a further, let’s crack the code of the Ripen Pineapple Guide.
Do pineapples ripen after picking?
Well, your question has two answers – one is NO, and the other is YES. Perplexed? Let us explain. If you expect pineapples at the grocery stores’ counters will ripen with time, there is a big no.
Pineapples don’t get ripen on shelves or at the counter.
Does it mean you will have to enjoy the pineapple?
NO!
There are tricks and hacks available for fruit lovers to ripen pineapple after picking. So, you can say, yes, pineapples do get ripen after being pulled from the tree but not on the shelves.
You will have to know the right set of rules and tricks on how to ripen a pineapple.
How to ripen a pineapple – Hacks
You must have seen a green mango turning into ripe, yellow, fragrant fruit ready to enjoy. The same will be the case here.
Many guides that claim you cannot ripen a pineapple once it is picked from the stem are baseless.
They even admit that with the right how to ripen pineapple tricks, you can alleviate the soreness in the fruit.
So, here you go with how to make a pineapple ripen faster tricks:
1. Store with other fruits:
You need natural sources of ethylene. The best is to go with farm-produced crops (fruits and vegetables that are a good source of ethylene.
FYI: Ethylene gas helps ripen fruits.
Bananas, tomatoes, and apples make the best choice here. Experts suggest that storing high ethylene fruits with unripe fruits will help them acquire ripeness.
These fruits release ethylene hormone in gaseous form, and the other fruit picks it and gets sweet–exposure matters.
2. Store in a clear polybag:
For this how to ripen a pineapple trick, you must have 24 hours or more time than that. Get a polybag, place your unripe pineapple, and seal it for any air or water entering.
When on the shelves, the crown keeps releasing the ethylene hormone in the form of gas.
How does the polybag trick work? Polybags trap the ethylene and let it react with the fruit core.
You can speed up the process by adding apples with ripened pineapple because two fruits will release more ethylene.
3. Store it upside down:
How to ripen a pineapple? Instead of storing your fruit with its crown at the top or laid at the side, you need to bring the crown to the bottom side so that the sweetness present in it can transfer to the flesh.
How does it work? Starch present in the stem and leaves is given to the fruit to get ripened. The fruit crown is nearest the branch and will have some amount of starch stored.
Bottoming it down will help the flesh use starch and become sweet within some days. This trick can take from one day to several days.
4. Store in the rice drum:
How to ripen a pineapple with rice? You can call this trick a substitute for the polybag trick to ripen pineapple. It also involves preventing ethylene gas from escaping and speeding up the ripening process.
The rice remains edible, and storing pineapple will not harm its nutrients. This trick will require 2 days, and you will have to keep checking that your fruit core doesn’t thaw on the way.
5. Cut & leave in the fridge for some days:
Cutting your pineapple and leaving it in the fridge will only relieve the sourness and never help the pineapple get ripened. However, the trick is worth trying as it will make a sour pineapple edible.
Pineapple core becomes thin with time, and flesh discharges water. This gives it a pulpy and soft texture while the soreness also reduces.
Your fruit will become softer within 24 hours.
Now, if you don’t have much time to wait and use time-taking ways of how to ripen a pineapple, don’t worry! We have a solution for you too.
Here we have some tricks on how to make a pineapple ripen faster.
How to ripen a pineapple fast – Tricks
There you go with four quick ways that will instantly restore the sweetness of your pineapple fruit and will let you enjoy it without irritating your throat.
6. Sprinkle sugar or sweetener
Cut your pineapple fruit into even pieces. The size of these pieces can be apt to your choice but better make the chunks smaller enough to fit in your mouth without biting.
Now, take sugar or any sweetener flavor, according to your choice once again, and sprinkle it evenly on the flesh.
Place in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes and enjoy ripened pineapple. You can use this trick for other sour fruits as well.
7. Grill
How to ripen a pineapple through grilling? Sour pineapples are immature and half-grown fruits. They are enriched with bromelain, an enzyme that irritates your mouth with a prickly feeling.
Grilling a pineapple will denature this enzyme. Grilling pineapple has no trick; it is simple and easy. You just need to put the pineapple slices on the grill for some seconds and eat it once cooled down.
8. Simmer
How to ripen a pineapple through simmering? It is simply boiling the pineapple slices for some time. This will also reduce the bromelain.
This will make pineapple less tangy. Once you get the pineapple slices out of the water, sprinkle some sugar on them and enjoy the sweetest pineapple of your life.
9. Bake it
Let me tell you how you ripen pineapple by backing. Cut the pineapple slices and put these chunks into an oven-safe dish. Get some sugar (brown, white, artificial) and sprinkle it on the pieces.
Bake for some seconds. You can enjoy this ripened pineapple as it is or make it a cold treat by storing it in the fridge for some time.
How to pick a pineapple that’s ripe and tasty?
Now to the other half of the guide: How to pick a sweet pineapple that never requires to ripen at home.
Check this pineapple ripeness chart first:
Here you go with five simple steps:
- Check the bottom:
It should be orange or yellowish, a sign of mature and ripened fruits. Green bottom means a sour pineapple.
- Squeeze the pineapple:
It should feel juicy and fresh. If you see a hard rind that’s tough to squeeze, put it back on the shelf.
- No dark or brown spots:
There shouldn’t be any spots on the skin when you want to pick a sweet pineapple. It should be freshly yellow.
- Size doesn’t matter:
Even a large pineapple can be sweetened, and a small one can give a sour taste. Pick a bigger size for more flesh.
- Sniff it:
Try to take a fruity and fragrant scent but do not trade other tricks of how to pick a sweet pineapple just for this one.
FAQs
Now, to some queries you sent us about how to ripen a pineapple:
How do you know when a pineapple is ripe?
Like other fruits, the texture will give you an idea of a fully ripe pineapple. It has a frim shell in fresh pale color and feels juicy when you squeeze it. By seeing these traits, you will know when a pineapple is ripe.
Will a pineapple ripen on the counter?
If you place it upside down on the counter shelves, it can get ripe within 2 to 3 days because the starch in the crown will get transferred to the flesh by this.
If these are not placed like this, pineapple will not ripen on the counter. To pick the right one, you will have to know what a ripe pineapple looks like.
However, if you pick a sour one, check our super easy guide on how to ripen a pineapple.
What does a ripe pineapple look like?
It looks fresh at first sight. With a golden-yellow color from top to bottom, a freshly green crown, and a squeezable rind, this is how ripe pineapples look like.
How long does it take a pineapple to ripen?
16 months to two years, based on the environmental factors. You don’t have to pluck the ripe pineapple because it gets down on its own.
Bottom Line
This guide comprises 9 ways of how to ripen a pineapple, followed by how to pick ripe pineapple hacks and FAQS. Keep visiting us for more exciting information.