2 Farmer’s Tips to Ripen a Pineapple Overnight

You need to know how to ripen a pineapple overnight. However, pineapple is not the kind of fruit that gets any riper after picking it.

Picking a pineapple gives you what you get. It can also be challenging to tell when your pineapple is ripe, so you may be stuck with an unripe one.

Suppose you end up with an unripe pineapple. You do not have to just suck it up or eat it unripe to avoid wasting food. An unripe pineapple can cause a horrible stomach ache for days. The best move is to get it ripe overnight, just like we got this mango ripe in one night.

How to ripen a pineapple overnight

If your pineapple is not getting any riper, do the following:

1. Store it with other ethylene fruits

The common recommendation is to place the pineapple in a paper bag with ethylene-producing fruit such as apples or bananas. You would then leave it on the counter for about 24 hours overnight to ripen.

As some fruits ripen, they produce the hydrocarbon gas, ethylene, which increases the ripening rate.

Ripe bananas and apples are especially productive sources of ethylene gas. When you put them next to your pineapple in a bag, they greatly speed up the ripening.

Ethylene will remove the green on the pineapple, so the outside starts to turn more yellow. As the pineapple ages, it gets softer. Now, that softness, coupled with a color change is what makes experts believe the pineapple is ripening.

2. Turn your pineapple upside down

Keeping a pineapple upside-down will cause it to ripen overnight. This is because starch converted to sugar in the stem enters the base of the pineapple. As such, the bottom of the pineapple may be slightly sweeter than the top.

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However, some experts think if you store a pineapple upside-down for a couple of nights, the sugar can redistribute, making the pineapple taste sweeter.

Other experts believe that turning a pineapple over will redistribute the juices, but there is no scientific evidence, so its effectiveness sparks debates.

You could try to cut up your pineapple if it is too tough. Leave it in the fridge for a couple of nights to get softer, juicier, and more enjoyable to eat.

If you are not concerned about the sweetness and texture, but concerned that the taste will irritate your mouth, bake or grill the pineapple. The enzyme bromelain is responsible for the prickly feeling in your mouth, breaking down protein, coupled with the acidity of pineapple. The enzyme is denatured when you cook the pineapple.

When is a pineapple ripe?

If you are not sure about picking or telling when a pineapple is ripe, look for these 3 things:

1. Sweet smell

You want to sniff the bottom of the pineapple. If it smells sweet and fragrant, the pineapple is ripe. If you do not perceive any scent, look for another pineapple.

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Do not also pick or use pineapples that smell fermented. To know what fermented smells like, think about kombucha or slightly sour.

2. Firm texture

If the pineapple has a firm texture when you squeeze it, it is ripe. Although firm, the texture should also be slightly soft. A rock-hard pineapple is unripe.

3. Yellow or green base color

Pineapple can be ripe if it is yellow or green. Yellow base pineapples, but green in other areas are the ones you should pick. Do not use pineapples with brown spots or orange coloration.