Green Pineapples are Ripe!
There is a common misconception that green pineapple is not ripe yet, however, pineapple doesn’t have to be yellow to be eaten and enjoyed. For example, Caribbean pineapple is ripe and available year-round but is green at certain times of the year. You no longer have to avoid the green pineapple at your local grocery store!
The Facts About a Ripe Pineapple
Pineapples ripen quicker when placed upside down, most importantly they can also be completely green outside but completely ripe inside. This is always hard to accept because we have a tendency to believe that all fruit will continue to ripen after harvest, as a high percentage of the fruit that we generally eat are climacteric and do continue to do so, but not pineapples.
Pineapples can take 18-20 months to be ready for harvesting, so there are a few tricks to see if a pineapple is fully ripe or not. To test if this fruit is fully ripe, it should feel slightly soft when squeezed, but not too squishy though. If the pineapple is completely solid to the touch, then it is recommended to wait a little bit longer. A heavier, sweet-smelling pineapple is also a good indication of whether it is ripe or not. If all else fails, pulling on the fronds is another way of telling. If they easily pull off, then the pineapple is ripe and ready to eat!
Picking and Packing Pineapples
When the pineapple is picked from the plant, it is already ripe and will not ripen more when transported or taken home. A fully ripe pineapple means that the pineapple has reached its full sugar content, which also means it’s more prone to bruising and rotting. When exported, pineapple has to be shipped overseas, so if the pineapple isn’t picked until it’s fully yellow, it will likely rot or bruise along the way. Due to this, we pick pineapples at just the right time when the sugar content is full and sweet to be enjoyed, but the fruit will be transported safely. We test our pineapple in-house to ensure the sugar level is optimum before shipping.
“I just cut one of the pineapples you sent and it is very good,” Lee Kiefer, a lifetime pineapple lover, and Chestnut Hill Farms customer said. “I have been eating them all my life (76 years) and they were always golden yellow. I am shocked that such a green pineapple would be good.”
Chestnut Hill Farms Pineapples
Pineapple production and export have grown significantly over the past 15 years. It has been recorded that between 2001 and now there has been an increase of at least 175 million boxes of pineapples being exported, with Hawaii being one of the largest producers, at ⅓ of the world’s supply. People enjoy pineapples green and golden around the world daily. Chestnut Hill Farms takes ripening very seriously. We take pride in our pineapples and strive to create the perfect pineapple, the sweetest pineapple you will ever pick up guaranteed!