Back in November, Kroger had an amazing sale on fresh pineapples — $.99 each. Of course the prepper in me got to thinking, “If I could process whole pineapples easily, I could put up a lot of pineapple with the canner and dehydrator.” This was all theory though. See, never once in my life had a processed a pineapple with a knife, nor had I laid hands on a purpose-built gadget that’d help me peel, core, slice, and chunk fresh pineapples.
A dear friend of mine took me to Kroger for the initial fruit purchase. I got four pineapples, and I asked her if she’d show me how to cut them. After I processed my first pineapple, I knew I HAD to find something to make the job easier, so I went to Amazon.
After researching the myriad of options in pineapple-processing gadgetry, I settled on the “Pineapple Corer – Peeler Slicer & Cutter” for $21.96.
Why This Product?
This tool was definitely one of the more expensive options on the list, and since I’m always trying to balance efficiency with cost, this product didn’t make the initial cut. After looking at other, less expensive options though, I reconsidered this corer/slicer because:
- it had an excellent overall rating
- reviews that described its use made this product sound easier to use than other products on the market
- it comes with a lifetime replacement guarantee
- I could get it quickly with my Amazon Prime membership
First Impressions
When it arrived, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t wait to unbox the thing and try it out. I opened the Amazon box to find a product box that was damaged, so initially, I was worried.
Inside the product box, I found the corer/slicer, the wedger, and the documentation and recipe book. The recipe book didn’t interest me at all, so I put it aside.
The corer/slicer seemed solidly made. I noticed that I could remove the plastic handle from the metal corer/slicer blade for easy clean-up, and the dimensions of the tool seemed appropriate for most pineapples. I also noticed that the wedger was made of plastic. I remember doubting its ability to cut through a cored and spiral-sliced pineapple, so I initially decided that I wasn’t even going to try using it.
Did it Work?
Since I had three pineapples sitting on my counter, I grabbed my chef’s slicer, a cutting board, a pineapple, and the pineapple gadget. I cut the top off the pineapple, and I placed the corer over the core. It took me a minute to figure out the mechanics of the tool. With a little practice though, I was eventually able to core and slice a pineapple with very little effort.
This particular tool cores and spiral-slices at the same time. As you twist the corer, it “drills” through the fruit, coring and spiral-slicing as it goes. After you’ve gone as deep as you can go into the fruit, you have a cored and sliced pineapple sitting on top of the blade, and with a little work, you can pull it right out of the skin. My kids liked the look of the “cups” that were left over after processing one pineapple, and my chickens absolutely LOVED them when I tossed them out the front door.
Overall, I’d say this product worked as advertised. I was able to process seven pineapples for the dehydrator in around 20 minutes, and I think it only took that long because I was chatting with my best friend as I worked. (We also may have been guilty of eating almost an entire pineapple between the two of us, so that slowed us down a bit too.)
I did decide to try the plastic wedger that came with the corer, and I was surprised at how easily it cut through the fresh fruit. I didn’t end up using it much when I was preparing pineapple for the dehydrator though because I thought the chunks were just a touch too big for my needs. If I were canning pineapple though, I’d use the wedger in a heartbeat!
The tool is easy to maintain. You just rinse it, dry it, and put it away. It doesn’t get much easier than that. The instructions recommend keeping the box, but since mine was damaged, I just wrapped the sharp end of the tool in a dish towel and I put it in the cupboard.
I did experience one technical difficult with the tool, and I don’t know if it was user error or simply a limitation of the product. Sometimes the corer and fruit will bind inside the pineapple peel so that it doesn’t want to come out when you pull up on the handle. Also, it’d be nice if it came with some sort of pusher to help remove core that gets stuck in the tool on occasion. I had that happen to me once, and I tried to extract the core with a butter knife. Let’s just say it didn’t end well. (And before anyone judges, I was trying to account for every possibility when I took the butter knife to the corer, and no, I didn’t realize at the time that my meat mallet handle made a safer core extraction tool. :D)
In the end, I think the tool is a good tool, and I gave it four out of five stars on Amazon. I do think it’s a bit overpriced for what it does, and the lack of a pusher was disappointing, but I’d definitely recommend it to friends and family. It was a purchase that I’m glad I made, and it’s sure to make my kitchen a very productive one when pineapple is simply too cheap to pass up!