L.A. Times Test Kitchen tips: Peeling and cleaning a pineapple

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Nothing beats the flavor of fresh pineapple, but it can be real frustrating to peel and clean if you don’t know how to do it. Here’s a quick step-by-step on how to peel the pineapple, including a trick I learned from a chef instructor in cooking school. She showed us a quick and simple way to remove the ‘eyes’ (the brown indentations) on the pineapple without wasting too much of the valuable flesh. -- Kenny Duran, L.A. Times Test Kitchen intern

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Photo credits: Noelle Carter

1. Remove the top of the pineapple.

2. Remove the bottom end, cutting so the pineapple will sit flat on a cutting board.

3. Using a chef’s knife, peel the pineapple.

4. Rotate the knife as you peel the skin, following the slant of the sides of the pineapple. Do not worry about peeling the eyes (the dark indentations) with the skin.

5. To remove the eyes, cut a wedge above and below a row of eyes. The eyes run in diagonal lines over the surface of the pineapple. Use the knife to remove a few at a time.

6. Ready to use.