How to Measure Pineapple for Cooking (2024)

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Pineapplesare popular for fresh eating, smoothies, and for baking. When your recipe calls for pineapple, it is difficult to know just how much pineapple you get from one of the large fruits, especially when the recipe may call for chunks, crushed, or sliced pineapple.

In many cases, canned pineapple can be substituted for fresh pineapple (and vice versa) in equal measure, which is good to know when you only need a small amount of pineapple for a recipe.

Pineapple Equivalents and Measures

This list of equivalents can help the next time you are buying fresh or canned pineapple for a recipe. Not every pineapple is the same size. Depending on thevariety, they range from two to six pounds each, but most of the fresh pineapples found in your grocery store weigh approximately two pounds.

• One medium pineapple, peeled and cored = five cups cubed
• Two pounds of whole fresh pineapple = three cups cubed
• Quarter pound = One serving
• 20-ounce can = 10 cored slices
• 30-ounce can = eight large cored slices
• Eight-ounce can, chunks = two-thirds of a cup of drained chunks
• Eight-ounce can, chunks = half a cup of liquid
• Eight-ounce can crushed = two-thirds of a cup, drained
• Eight-ounce can crushed = one-third of a cup of liquid

How to Cut Pineapple

1. Cut off the greenery and skin at the top with a sharp knife.
2. Cut the skin off the bottom.
3. Quarter the pineapple lengthwise.
4. Cut out the hard core of each pineapple section.
5. Cut each quarter in half lengthwise so you have eight narrow pieces.
6. Use the sharp knife to cut the fruit away from the skin of each piece.
7. Cut the fruit into chunks or squares.

How to Freeze Pineapple

If you buy a whole fresh pineapple and only use part of it for your recipe, you can freeze the rest. To freeze leftover pineapple,

1. Cut the fruit into chunks or squares.
2. Place parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.
3. Put the pieces of pineapple on the parchment paper, making sure the pieces do not touch
4. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer overnight fora couple of hours during the day.
5. When the pineapple pieces are frozen, transfer them to airtight bags or containers.
6. Label the bags or containers with the date. Frozen pineapple should be good for up to six months.

Thawed pineapple can be eaten as is, added to fruit smoothies, recipes, and ice cream, or placed in afruit salad.

Substitutions for Pineapple in Recipes

No fruit tastes exactly like a pineapple, but if you are allergic to pineapple or just don't like the taste, you can try a few substitutions in your recipes. At this point, you'll be inventing a new recipe and will probably need to do a lot of trial and error guessing before you get the flavor just right. Possible substitutions include:

• Papaya combined with green apple
• Guava
• Mango with a mixture of lime, juice, orange juice and some brown sugar
• Feijoa (pineapple guava)