A gadget to take the pain out of pineapple prep
When it comes to weaning, the stage between purely purees and eating literally everything can be super stressful. Knowing which finger foods are safe and manageable can be a minefield to navigate, let alone finding ones your little treasure will actually enjoy eating.
Ripe fruits are always a hit, especially when they can be cut into baby-hand sized chunks. Tinned pineapple is an easy solution as the fruit is prepped for you, but with so many cans being loaded heavily with sugar, you won’t get healthier than buying the fruit itself. Supermarkets have chimed in with their own solution of selling pre-cut fingers, but this is so much more expensive than buying the fruit yourself.
400g of pre-cut pineapple pieces - £1.60 (£4.00/kg)
565g of canned pineapple (supermarket own brand) - £0.73 (£2.15/kg)
1 medium pineapple (approx 700g) - £0.95 (approx £1.35/kg)
Prepping a pineapple isn’t the quickest fruit out there and is an often messy (or slightly painful when you catch a prickle) experience. But there’s a gadget out there that is supposed to make pineapple prep a breeze – the pineapple corer.
What is the pineapple corer?
The pineapple corer is a cheap gadget, consisting of only 2 parts: a handle and a metal hollow shaft. The version I got* was super cheap and came with a plastic handle, but there are more fancy versions out there with stainless grips or even having a ratcheting system*. I’m not sure how durability compares across all the brands and variants out there but figured that if the cheapest holds up fine, why pay more?
At the end of the hollow tube is a serrated cutting edge, designed to core out the tough centre of the pineapple at the same time as cutting the juicy innards into a big long spiral. The handle simply pops into this shaft and can be easily removed after use for cleaning and storage.
Tip:
Why not add some of the juice from your cored pineapple to our Hot Toddy Recipe for a tropical twist when you're feeling poorly?
How does the pineapple corer work?
- Place the handle into the cutting shaft
- Cut the top off the pineapple with a knife
- Insert the serrated edge into the top of the pineapple
- Twist the gadget until you reach the bottom of the pineapple
- Pull the tool upward to remove the fruit from the husk of the pineapple
Does the pineapple corer work?
In short, yes. Although the handle didn’t feel to secure on my corer, it worked fine and stayed in place whilst cutting through the fruit. It was so much quicker than cutting with a knife, although you still needed to dirty a knife and cutting board to remove the top of the pineapple to insert the gadget. For the price, this gadget works well, and would not take long to pay off the initial investment in replacement of buying pre-cut pineapple.
Top Tip:
Keep the hollowed out pineapple and the top with leaves to use as a funky looking, tasty serving vessel for a cheeky cocktail
What kitchen gadgets can you not live without? Would you buy a pineapple corer? Let us know in the comments below.
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Kara says
OMG< i need one of these - I love pineapple but find it such a chore to cut and prepare
Charlotte Cook says
Definitely! Can totally see why precut is so popular
Sarah Dee says
This is a pretty cool gadget! I love pineapple and I once did have a cocktail out of one at a market, very nice.
Charlotte Cook says
That sounds super yummy. They had them when we were on holiday in the Dominican Republic but I was preggo at the time so missed out 🙁
Sabina Green says
I love a gadget, I have a mandolin to slice things up but this looks pretty useful. I do love pineapple but hate prepping them.
Charlotte Cook says
We had to get rid of our Mandolin after my partner had an encounter with his finger on the blade 🙁
Janet Yarwood says
My little girl loves pineapple but I hate it. Chopping drives me mad when I end up covered in it, looks like this could be the perfect solution
Anosa says
I want one, like where has this gadget been all my life? I struggle with pineapples big time.
Charlotte Cook says
Same! (Well, not any more haha)
Josie - Me, Them and the Others says
Great to see the cost comparison, i’m Often tempted to be lazy and buy precursors but that will stop me! Looks like a great gadget.
Charlotte Cook says
It's scary doing the maths
Samantha Donnelly says
We eat a lot of fresh pineapple in our house, I definitetly need one o these in my life x
Charlotte Cook says
Well worth the price
Joanne says
I love fresh pineapple so this would be really handy to have as preparing the fruit is the main thing that puts me off eating it!
Charlotte Cook says
Same here. I also get eczema if I handle raw fruits/veggies too much so this really helps as I don't come in contact with the juices!
Chelle says
This looks so cool! We love pineapple in our house!
Charlotte Cook says
Same here 😀
Rachel says
i love the idea of a cheeky cocktail. Especially when the weather is so grim
Rachael says
Okay so I was Amazed by this and so I showed my other half and he was less enthusiastic about it. I think this is great, I want one!
Jenni says
I need one of these in my life! Prepping pineapples is just a pain.
Charlotte Cook says
Definitely!
Claire says
I hate prepping pineapple, this gadget would be great!
Charlotte Cook says
It is such a pain
Stephanie says
What a brilliant idea, I so could do with one of these to make it easier. I hate chopping!
Charlotte Cook says
Deffo makes it so much easier
Stephanie says
Wow! This will make cutting up a pineapple so much easier! Where has this been all my life!?
Amanda Blackburn says
It’s not very easy to cut up a pineapple so this tool looks and sounds very useful.