Canning Pineapples

I recently found pineapples on sale for $1.50 each at the local grocery store, so I decided to can them! They are very simple to do if you have basic canning knowledge and the basic equipment. The home canned pineapples taste so much better than the ones you buy in the store!!

10 pineapples gave me 24 pints of chunked pineapples. You first need to decide what kind of liquid you wish to can the pineapples in: water, unsweetened pineapple juice, light syrup, medium syrup, or a heavy syrup. I chose to do mine in a medium syrup which is a 2:1 ratio of water to sugar. It took 18 cups of water and 9 cups of sugar to make my 24 pints.

First, you want to take the rind off the pineapples, the top, core out the center and cut into chunks. I bought a pineapple corer, but decided it was a lot of work twisting the corer down to the bottom, plus I feel it left a lot of fruit behind. Here's a photo:

If you were ever going to have a party and wanted to serve drinks out of real pineapples, then this would be a great tool to have!

I just ended up using a sharp, serrated knife.

Next, bring your liquid of choice to a boil (plus sugar if using). Allow it to simmer while putting the pineapples in jars. You want to pack them in, but don't stuff them. Taking a ladle, ladle the liquid into the jars, leaving 1/2" head space. Put the lids on the jars and process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.

It's really just that easy! Stored in a cool, dry place, the pineapples should last 12-18 months.