Buzz
Pinkglow® pineapples are a peculiar fruit. They aren't naturally occurring, but rather engineered (and trademarked) by Del Monte. Their distinctive pink color comes from lycopene, a pigment found naturally in watermelon and tomatoes (but not in pineapples, hence the need for engineering). While some might find their look off-putting, I’m fond of products that exist in the uncanny valley, even if it’s a pineapple that resembles frozen salmon.
These Franken-fruits don’t come cheap—they can cost as much as $15 each—but I managed to find them at my local Fred Meyer (a Kroger-affiliated store) for just five bucks, so I grabbed a couple.
It was the juiciest pineapple I’ve ever cut into, with a sweeter, more floral taste and much less acidity compared to a regular pineapple. I couldn’t bring myself to waste a single piece.
Normally, I deal with pineapple scraps by using a generous amount of gin, but since I don’t drink much these days, I decided to toss the tough, fibrous core into my fancy water cup, a cup I bought in hopes of staying more hydrated. (It’s working, sort of.) Within half an hour, the core had infused my plain water with the refreshing, sweet flavor of pineapple, making it way more enjoyable to sip.
The best tools for coring a pineapple include:
A basic knife: Mercer Culinary 8-Inch, Chef’s Knife
A high-end knife I’m currently obsessed with: Messermeister Kawashima 8-inch Chef’s Knife
A dedicated pineapple corer: SameTech Stainless Steel Pineapple Peeler and Corer
You don’t have to use a pink pineapple core, though. Any color works. The beauty of pineapple cores is that they’re already the ideal shape and size to fit into a water bottle. If your bottle’s opening is particularly narrow, you can slice the core in half or quarters vertically to make it fit.
You can also freeze the cores to both chill and flavor your water simultaneously. (They’ll last for at least three months in the freezer, so toss them into a freezer bag as you cut up pineapples and use them when you’re ready.) For a little extra flair, you can add some mint leaves, but I think pineapple water—whether pink or yellow—is delightful all on its own.
