Make a sweet treat from fresh or canned pineapple that is great for snacking or even when baking! It's super easy to do and your kids will love doing it themselves!
Cut under the crown about an inch, straight across.
Cut the bottom about 1" in to make a flat surface.
You can use a pineapple slicing and coring tool at this point if you'd like.
Run the knife from top to bottom along the edge, shaving a section off the skin as you go.
Rotate to the next section.
You can go back to remove any eyes if necessary.
Cut into very thin slices for crispy whole sections or into spears and then small slices for bite-sized pieces.
Season if desired.
Place onto dehydrator mesh sheets for best results.
Dry at 135°F/57°C or lower until dry and leathery for wedges or dry and crispy for thin slices.
For Canned Pineapple
Open and drain cans into bowl
Set the juice aside to freeze, drink or use to marinate meat, or even as a pretreatment for fruit stop oxidation.
Rinse pieces if you desire
Cut pieces in half to help for a more efficient drying time. While the rings may not cut well, and will dry, you'll get a faster drying time by cutting.
Place onto dehydrator sheets with mesh for best results
Dry at 135°F/57°C or lower until dry and leathery for wedges or dry and crispy for thin slices. These slices may be a bit tacky to the touch from the extra sugars, but should not be sticky.
Storage
Store in an airtight container with a moisture absorber for up to a year.
Video
Notes
Darcy's Tips:
I use a applecoring tool that does not slice pineapple because I prefer to slice as thinly as I need. I can choose to core just the pieces I want or the whole pineapple.
Pineapples can be slick with juice and sugars. Wear a good cutting glove if you're worried about your knife skills or some nitrile gloves to keep a grip on the fruit.
Cayenne pepper (any pepper powder will work - experiment with your favorite)
Cinnamon
Cinnamon + cayenne
Worchestershire powder - be very light with this seasoning until you know how you like it. The salty/umami flavor is perfect to balance out the sweetness, but it can be overwhelming.
Molasses powder - one of my favorite ways to make pineapple is to grill it with a little brown sugar syrup that I found on Alton Brown's website. The molasses powder mimics the brown sugar taste.
Molasses powder + ginger or molasses powder + taijin or molasses powder + chili powder - all take on the sweet + spicey flavor that will go well with pineapple.
Salt and or pepper. Both offer something to balance the sweet.