A pineapple is ripe when it shows several specific signs:
- Color: The outside shell should be light to medium yellow, especially at the bottom. Some green is okay but a fully green pineapple is underripe. Too dark yellow or orange means overripe.
- Weight: Ripe pineapples feel heavy for their size, indicating juiciness and sweetness.
- Smell: A ripe pineapple smells sweet and fruity at the bottom. No smell means underripe; a funky or vinegary smell means overripe.
- Feel: It should be firm but yield slightly to gentle pressure. Rock hard means underripe; too soft suggests overripeness.
- Leaf Test: The green leaves (fronds) at the top should mostly look healthy. If you can gently pull out one of the central leaves easily, that's a sign the pineapple is ripe.
Notably, pineapples do not ripen much after being picked, so you should select one that appears ripe from the start. So to know when a pineapple is ripe, check for a yellow bottom, heaviness, sweet smell, slight softness, and pull a top leaf to see if it comes out easily.
