dchsueh

I visited the Finca Corsicana organic pineapple farm in Costa Rica, earlier this year. Excellent learning opportunity. I learned how to grow a pineapple crown, amongst other things...

One of the questions we were quizzed on was how to select the best pineapples in a grocery store, best from the perspective of eating. The usual answers (smells nice, nice sound, firm flesh, good top that doesn't lose leaves when tugged) were all wrong according to the guide.

IIRC, the best way is to look for even green coloration and even scale size and shape. We all got it wrong!

We were told that yellowing is a sign that the fruit has started to ferment.

An interesting observation is that this farm picked the pineapples at the peak of ripeness, and the fruits are shipped very cold (very close to freezing) from the factory. In Canada every pineapple I've seen on display has been out in the open, NOT in any refrigerated display case, and in many cases the crown has started to deteriorate, the base is often slightly moldy, and usually yellowing to some degree. Stores could easily increase the quality of the fruit just by keeping it refrigerated!

(The OP's photos look to be an excellent pineapple from a freshness perspective - excellent even *green* scales with a top that looks great.)