One of the sweetest and tastiest fruits you can buy is fresh pineapple, but not all of them will ripen properly in the grocery store. The tropical fruit known as a pineapple (Ananas comosus) has special health advantages in addition to its sweet flavour and brilliant yellow hue. Antioxidants, manganese, and Vitamin C, which are believed to boost the immune system, are all present in pineapples. They also include bromelain, a blend of proteolytic enzymes with anti-inflammatory effects that break down proteins.
The herbaceous perennial pineapple plant, which grows in tropical climates, produces fruit from flower heads. The pineapple’s top is covered in spiky, green leaves. Before eating, these leaves and the pineapple’s armour-like exterior must be removed. In addition to being cut and eaten raw, pineapples are frequently used in desserts, smoothies, and juices.
Here are some important things to pay attention to:
1. Texture
Pineapples have spikes even when they are the purest shade of yellow. Even if we are powerless to change that, touching them still helps determine whether or not they are ripe. Squeezing a ripe pineapple will make it feel very slightly softer than an immature one, but the texture difference won’t be as noticeable between the two as with an avocado. You don’t want a pineapple that is extremely hard.
2. Shade
Most likely, when you see a pineapple, you picture a fruit that is greenish-yellow in colour. However, when a pineapple ripens, its outside turns from green to yellow. Hence, in general, the more yellow the pineapple’s exterior, the riper the fruit will be. A pineapple that is consistently golden-yellow from top to bottom is what you want, but it shouldn’t be too dark orange. A unique characteristic of pineapple is that it doesn’t actually continue to ripen much after being cut from the tree. So, the greener, less-ripe ones you see at the grocery store won’t be becoming any riper.
3. Smell
Give the pineapple’s base a smell to determine if the colour and texture are to your liking. It’s usually fine if the bottom of it smells ripe, delicious, sweet, and vibrant. But beware: the pineapple has gone overboard if it begins to smell sour and fermented, like vinegar.
