If you want to buy a pineapple from the Store, you may be wondering if pineapples ripen after picking. This is a common question as produce can be quite expensive, and people want to pick the best kind of pineapples.
Especially when it comes to fruit, it can be difficult to know when pineapples are ripe when you buy them. So you want to make sure that you pick ripe pineapples that are going to be sweet and flavorful when you cut into them.
There is nothing more disappointing than cutting into a pineapple only to find that it is very underripe. Resulting in very hard and sour fruit that is not going to be nearly as pleasant to eat.
Keep reading to find out whether or not pineapples ripen after picking in how to tell when a pineapple is ripe and ready to be eaten.
Do Pineapples Finish Ripening After Being Picked?
If you enjoy eating pineapple, you may be wondering if pineapples ripen after they have been picked. Unfortunately, the reality is that pineapples do not actually ripen much more after they have been picked, resulting in many unripe pineapples in stores.
For the most part, any kind of produce is typically going to be picked before it has reached ripeness. This is because it has to be shipped to the location where it is going to be sold at and dispersed to different grocery stores.
Once that has happened, the produce is very likely to sit in the store for several days before being sold. Meaning that the produce could be sitting around for up to a week or two after it has been picked during these processes.
So companies have to make sure that produce is picked before it is fully ripe so that it is not overly ripe or spoiled by the time it is in stores. This is why you often see produce that is completely unripe being sold.
This is unfortunate for pineapples as pineapples are picked before they have fully ripened so that they can be transported and sold. But because they do not ripen much after being picked, many people will find that their pineapple is not ripe when they eat it.
So some pineapples may never ripen even if you sit them out for several days in a sunny spot. As they will only ripen so much after being picked.
How to Tell If a Pineapple Is Ripe?
If you were going to go to the grocery store and buy a pineapple, you should know what to look for. As you want to make sure that you buy a pineapple that is already nearly ripe or already ripe.
Because pineapples do not ripen much after they have been picked, you do not want to go for an under-ripe pineapple in the store. Especially when it comes to green pineapples, as it indicates that they are clearly not ripe and ready to eat.
The pineapple you buy is not going to ripen much when you get it home, so you want it to already be ripe or almost to that point. So there are a few signs to look for, so that you make sure that you pick out just the right pineapple.
Sweet Smell
A ripe pineapple is often going to have a sweet smell around the base of the pineapple. You will usually be able to tell by lifting the pineapple and smelling the bottom to see if there is a sweet or fruity smell.
The bottom will also usually be a darker color, sometimes even being a shade of brown. This often indicates that there is a lot of sugar in the fruit, meaning the pineapple will be nice and sweet when you cut into it.
If your grocery store has a very good batch of pineapples, you’ll most likely be able to smell the sweet pineapple smell in that general area. But you should be careful and make sure that you pick out just a ripe pineapple that has a strong and sweet smell.
Colors
Fully ripe pineapples are usually going to have a yellow and brown color to them. They will often be lighter in color towards the top and slowly become darker towards the bottom.
A pineapple should be mostly yellow and brown, though there are instances where a green pineapple may be ripened. The green pineapples are usually not ripe and indicate that the pineapple was picked too soon.
The color is not always guaranteed, so you shouldn’t rely just on how the pineapple looks. This is why you should consider the other signs that a pineapple is ripe when choosing one in the store.
Soft Texture
Pineapples can be hard to test to see if they’re ripe as they have a thick, scaly skin surrounding the fruit inside. So you cannot simply press on them like you could a peach or a kiwi.
Though a ripe pineapple should have a slight give to it when you pick it up and squeeze it. Pineapples should never be very soft to the touch, as this could indicate that they have begun to rot and are much too ripe.
But a fully ripe pineapple is going to have a softness to it when you squeeze it, as the flesh will give under your grip.
Heavy Weight
A fully ripe pineapple is also going to be heavier when you pick it up. The weight often indicates how juicy the pineapple itself is, with juicy pineapples usually being fully ripened.
This is why you should pick up a few pineapples to see which one weighs the most, as that one is most likely the ripest. Resulting in a very juicy and sweet pineapple that is going to taste exactly the way you want it to.
Wrapping Up
If you want to buy a pineapple in the store, you should know that pineapples do not ripen much after they have been picked. So you need to make sure that the pineapple you buy is already almost ripe or already ripe.
As it is very likely to ripen much once you get it home, and you do not want to spend your money on an under-ripe pineapple that won’t taste as good.