Pineapple slicer! – HESONWHEELS.COM

A few weeks ago, Kristin and I were sharing Panera with a new friend, Jayanne, who is a very interesting woman. She teaches in Montgomery County Public Schools, and most years she sets out with a very unique learning outcome for her students. So that they may understand the physical obstacles that a student with a disability may face her students have the opportunity to be in a wheelchair for a day.

After getting their parents permission, from the moment they step foot off of their school bus until the end of the school day – gym class included – they must use a wheelchair to navigate their school day. I heard about this project while I was giving a motivational talk to a few students at Auburn Middle School last fall, through Actively Caring – Jayanne approached me and told me about the project afterward. So we ended up getting coffee months later so that I could learn more about the project. It, indeed, is a fantastic idea and very eye-opening for her students. But that’s not what this blog post is about.

As we shared our Panera pasta and deserts, the conversation turned to Kristin and I’s love for cooking, especially together. Kristin is, for some reason, obsessed with pineapple and naturally this amazing summertime ingredient came up in conversation. Jayanne introduced us to the idea of a pineapple slicer, which she had formerly tried out. I was immediately skeptical. Why not just slice it with your sharp knife, core it, etc.? Annoying, but just as easy right? Wrong.

After she explained it, however, I had one objective on my mind – immediately jet over to Bed Bath and Beyond to get one! And so…we did. And here’s how it works.

Begin with the whole pineapple. Cut off the top, just below the green leaves.

This what the slicer looks like. The little button near the top allows that handle to come off. The bottom green part comes off and acts as the “wedger” after the “slicer” has done the business. This is what the packaging looks like, incase you’re interested in trying it yourself. They sell a similar, cheaper model at Wal-Mart, but as I mentioned this one was found at Bed Bath and Beyond.

I started using a paper towel, but you’ll see later that there is excess juice that comes out. Cut the fruit over top of a bowl to keep the extra juice.

The inside once it is cored out. Minimal pineapple is wasted.

Once you are done slicing, you use the upper green handle to pull the fruit out.

Wedging!

A bowl full of amazing, juicy pineapple! I actually use the bowl to dump all of the extra juice out as I rotate the slicer down.

And your end result are amazing little pieces that look just like this!

We learned very quickly last summer that this great fruit goes on sale a great deal during the summer, so this could be a great investment if you eat it a lot. It’s also great to just chop up one or two pineapples and leave them in the fridge for a week or so to munch on – it’s a great snack, too. Even if you don’t use the slicer, it’s a great idea to invest in some pineapple this summer! ;)

What an amazing serving suggestion I found online – you can half the pineapple after cutting it. Definitely considering this for a grilling party this summer, maybe with Pineapple Salsa!