Can You Actually Open A Pineapple Without A Knife?

The most useful kitchen tool for eating fruit is a knife. Knives can open the fruit, peel off thick skin, and cut it into slices. The last time you brought a pineapple home from the store, chances are you reached for a knife to open it. A spiky pineapple, with its thick core and tough leaves, is nothing a big knife can't handle. But what if there was a way to open a pineapple that didn't require a knife at all? A social media "hack" for opening a pineapple only requires your bare hands, but it seems too good to be true. Whether it works or not will depend a bit on the pineapple you have and your commitment.

This hack requires a very ripe pineapple to work well. You can tell if a pineapple is ripe when it has a yellow-gold color (no green in sight), smells very sweet, and slightly gives in to the touch. Social media wisdom says to rip off the leafy end with your hands (give it a good twist) and roll the pineapple on your kitchen counter to loosen it up. Then, aim to pull out one of those small chunks from the pineapple's skin with your fingers.

In theory, this hack could actually work, thanks to a pineapple's anatomy. A pineapple is technically a multiple fruit, meaning the fruit body is formed from multiple flowers clustered together, called the inflorescence. Each fruitlet equates to one of those hexagonal sections of the pineapple's exterior. Don't be surprised if you manage to pull out one of those sections with your fingers, but it won't be nearly as easy as a tray of pull-apart dinner rolls. It will be a messy and juicy process that social media creators are making look way easier than reality. But hey, if you have a ripe pineapple on hand and some time to spare, go ahead and try it.

If you're looking for some hacks for peeling fruit quickly, maybe invest in a more reliable pineapple corer. This tool effectively removes the tough core while slicing away the pineapple's skin, leaving donut-shaped rings of pineapple for you to enjoy. Just don't throw away the pineapple's core; there are ways to utilize it like blended in a smoothie, puréed for a cocktail, or even used to make pineapple spa water.