From Crinkle Cakes to Million Layer Potatoes, TikTok has launched dozens of food trends we adore and often recreate. But not all of the recipes shared on the social media platform are reliable. (We’re looking at you, Cottage Cheese Flatbread.)

Not all of the tips and tricks shared on TikTok are trustworthy, either. Remember when a viral post suggested washing your shredded cheese before using it in a recipe? There’s a better solution, and we have it for you here. 

We recently spotted several videos swirling around about how to ripen a pineapple, including “solutions” like storing it upside-down (balanced on the leaves), placing it in a plastic or paper bag, or covering it with uncooked rice. The creators swear that they had cracked the code about how to take the fruit from rock-hard to ready to slice and savor.

But we’ve been fooled enough times by hacks that are far from helpful, so we decided to turn to the pros for the facts about how to ripen a pineapple…and if you actually can do so in the first place.

The Surprising Science Behind When a Pineapple Stops Ripening

According to Rudy Balala, the general manager of Maui Gold Pineapple in Hali'imaile, Maui, Hawaii, who has been in the pineapple industry for 46 years, it takes 18 months for a pineapple to go from planting to harvest. Pineapple plants begin to flower at 12 months, “and from there, another 6 months to get a mature fruit,” Balala says. “Pineapples ripen on the plant and should not be harvested until the fruit reaches a certain sugar level.”

That’s because once a pineapple is harvested, it will not continue to ripen. It only ripens while on the plant, Balala and Gareth Hollis, the San Francisco, California-based senior business manager of Del Monte Foods, Inc., agree. Once it’s cut from the stem, the fruit will not get any sweeter. 

Balala takes us to school with a little food science: Fruits can be classified as either “climacteric” or “non-climacteric,” he tells us. Pineapple joins cherries and grapes in the non-climacteric camp.

“Non-climacteric fruits are fruits that ripen slowly on the plant, and stop ripening once they are harvested,” Balala explains. “They are different from climacteric fruits [like apples, peaches, and bananas], which have a rapid increase in ethylene production and respiration at the start of ripening. Non-climacteric fruits don't have this peak in ethylene production, so they need to be harvested when they are fully ripe.” (In case you missed it, ethylene gas is why you should never store these fruits and vegetables together…unless you want them to spoil faster.)

Non-climacteric fruits, including pineapple, may soften and the skin might turn more yellow when exposed to ethylene, but no changes in internal ripeness occur once a pineapple is picked. As soon as a pineapple is harvested, the clock starts ticking and the quality lowers day by day.

So if you choose a good pineapple, you’re actually wasting precious time flipping it upside-down and letting it rest on the counter for days on end. And storing it in a bag with a banana, as some TikTok creators suggest, is only going to play visual tricks.

To tell when a pineapple is perfectly ripe, Balala and his team measure the “brix,” or the amount of internal sugar solids in the fruit.

“A higher brix score indicates a sweeter fruit. We start measuring the sugar levels by sampling fruit and measuring brix 4 weeks prior to the scheduled harvest,” he explains, so they can track and harvest at just the right time. (Think of this like how you might peek at a batch of snickerdoodle cookies on the short end of their baking time to ensure you don’t overshoot it.)

How to Tell if a Pineapple Is Ripe

Few, if any of us, can measure brix at home, so we asked Balala to share the features that we can look for to have a better chance of choosing a ripe-and-ready fruit. 

Since external color has no association with internal ripeness, “it takes a special eye and years of experience to determine when a pineapple has reached full maturity,” Balala admits. “Some varieties can be mature and sweet, but the shell is still green. We like to remind people that it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

That being said, there are several things you can look for to reduce the risk of buying an underripe or overripe pineapple. A pineapple that is ripe has:

• Flat “eyes.” If you brush your hand across the eyes (the individual fruitlets or indents on the skin/shell) they should be fairly flat and smooth.
• Skin that slightly yields to pressure. “Gently squeeze the fruit, and the shell should give a little,” Balala says. If it is rock hard, it was potentially picked when underripe, and if it has any very soft spots, it could be overripe or spoiled.
• A sweet aroma. Lift up the fruit and smell the base; it should emit a faint fruity and sweet fragrance. No smell might mean it’s unripe, and a strong sour or fermented aroma could be a hint that the fruit is past its prime.
• A substantial weight for its size. Just like with melons, a pineapple that feels heavy for its size is likely juicy and sweet.

Can You Eat Underripe Pineapple?

You should be A-OK to eat underripe pineapple, and we certainly recommend doing so rather than wasting it. Still, you need not suffer through a sub-par slice. 

“If you cut a fruit and it is underripe, my best suggestion is to find a good pineapple recipe and cook with it. Pineapple is great in both sweet and savory recipe options,” Balala says. 

Cooking pineapple intensifies the natural sweetness of fruit. Roast or grill diced pineapple or pineapple rings to serve as part of sundaes, parfaits, cream puffs, or trifles. You could also infuse it with coconut rum. Or pair sweet and savory in our fan-favorite fresh pineapple recipes like Chicken-Pineapple Fajitas, Grilled Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers, Spicy Scallop-Pineapple Stir-Fry, or Grilled Avocado and Pineapple Salad.

Hollis vows that if you opt for canned pineapple, you have very little chance of choosing underripe fruit: “It’s harvested at peak ripeness, which means it is naturally sweet without any added sugars, making it a great choice whenever you need that ripeness guarantee. Plus the canning process locks in nutrients at the peak of ripeness, and ensures stability up until the time of consumption, helping to reduce waste from spoilage.”

As much as we adore and still plan to stock up and snack on fresh pineapple, we’re sweet on canned, too. Try canned pineapple recipes like Million Dollar Cake, Pineapple Upside-Down Coffee Cake, Hummingbird Cake with Caramel Frosting, Banana Split Bread, Luau BBQ Chicken Foil Packets, or Pineapple Pork Chili to make the most of your stash.

How to Store Pineapple

Since it’s not getting any better the longer you wait, ideally, you’ll be storing your peeled and sliced fresh pineapple in your stomach ASAP. 

But in the meantime, the best place to store pineapple is in the refrigerator. Refrigerate a whole pineapple for 5 to 7 days, or slice or dice the flesh, transfer it to an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 4 days.