How Long Do Pineapples Last and How To Tell If One is Bad?

Bought a fresh pineapple and wondering how much time you’ve got before it starts to turn? How long does a pineapple last?

Or it’s been sitting in storage for a while, and you want to know how to tell if a pineapple is bad.

Dive in as we unpack everything about pineapple shelf life and signs of spoilage.

Pineapple Shelf Life Table

 CounterFridge
Whole pineapple2 – 3 days5 – 7 days
Pineapple chunks or slices 5 – 7 days

How Long Do Whole Pineapples Last?

Whole pineapple shelf life

A whole pineapple typically lasts 2 to 3 days at room temperature or 5 to 7 days if you refrigerate it. But, if you pick one that’s just arrived and hasn’t been sitting on the grocery shelf for long, it’s likely to last you up to 10 days.

If you need more time than that, freezing the pineapple might be your way out.

How long your pineapple retains quality depends on the quality of the fruit quite a lot. And as you might imagine, the better the quality and fresher the fruit, the longer it’ll last.

When choosing the pineapple in the grocery store, go with one that has a sweet aroma (sniff the bottom), its leaves are green and fresh, and the skin is firm without damaged areas. That ensures the fruit is fresh and not over-ripe.

(I cover choosing the best possible one in detail in my piece on storing pineapples.)

What About Cut Pineapples?

Cut pineapple shelf-life

According to the University of Hawaii, fresh-cut pineapple keeps for at least 7 days in the fridge. When storing cut pineapple, make sure it’s sealed tight in an airtight container, plastic bag, or wrapped using plastic wrap.

(You can wrap the pineapple slices the same way you go about cut watermelon or cantaloupe chunks.)

Warning

Avoid using aluminum foil when wrapping pineapple slices or chunks. Pineapples are highly acidic, which means the fruit might react with the foil. The same is true for lemons or tomatoes.

Those 7 days seem like a pretty long period, so I try to use any pineapple leftovers within 5 to 7 days, just to stay safe.

Now, wondering what does bad pineapple look like, exactly? Let’s talk about how to tell if your pineapple is spoiled.

Spoilage Signs

Discard your pineapple if it shows any signs of mold, the bottom smells fermented, the whole pineapple is soft or mushy, or there are large soft or sunken spots. For sliced pineapple, be on the lookout for mold and remove any segments where the flesh has turned brown.

That’s the high-level overview.

Now, let’s dive into the details.

Smell

A ripe pineapple should smell sweet, especially near the bottom. But if you store it for more than a couple of days, the smell changes, and soon enough, it starts to smell fermented. That happens fast if you leave the fruit on the counter.

That fermented smell means your pineapple is overripe.

If the scent is somewhere between sweet and fermented, cut the pineapple and see what’s inside. Some parts might still be good, but you’ll likely have to throw some away, too.

Softness

Pineapples only look tough and sturdy. Leave your pineapple in storage for long enough, and it’ll become soft, especially on the outside.

That loss of firmness doesn’t necessarily mean the fruit is spoiled, but it’s a sure sign the pineapple is past its prime. That also means the fruit will lose its crunch and won’t taste as good as fresh pineapple does.

Also, you don’t need to ditch the whole pineapple if only a section is soft and discolored, and the rest is okay. Cut out the “bad” area and use the rest.

As usual, it’s up to you to decide if that soft fruit is still good enough to use or if you should ditch it. My advice is: if it’s not mushy and it doesn’t show any other spoilage signs, give it a taste and go from there. If it tastes okay, I use it.

Tip

A soft pineapple probably won’t work well in a fruit salad or a cake topping, but it’ll taste fine in a cooked dish. Use it in something like pineapple chicken.

Brown flesh

Brown pineapple flesh

Besides losing firmness, pineapple flesh can brown if stored long enough. Eating such chunks probably won’t make you sick or anything, but browned pineapple tastes pretty bad. That means you should cut those discolored areas and discard them.

If you cut your pineapple in half and notice that the whole fruit is quite soft and has large brown (or discolored) areas, it’s probably best to toss the entire thing.

Dry top leaves

Pineapple: dry leaves

Dry leaves aren’t as much a spoilage sign as a warning signal that the fruit is likely overripe and its quality is not that great.

That means you should avoid buying pineapples with dry leaves, and if you notice that the leaves on yours are starting to lose color, it’s time to use that pineapple.

Mold

Mold is obviously bad, but seeing a small fuzzy area doesn’t necessarily mean you should toss the whole pineapple.

From my experience, mold grows most often on the pineapple bottom. And if I notice it there, I just cut off the bottom inch of the fruit and use up the rest.

Pineapple moldy bottom

But if you find mold beneath the skin of the pineapple, it’s best to toss it altogether or at least cut off a huge chunk. Mold easily penetrates soft fruits, so it’s not safe to just cut off the moldy part and use the rest.

(I wouldn’t necessarily call pineapple a soft fruit, but it’s probably closer to a soft one than a firm one.)

Pineapple mold beneath skin

If you notice mold on your cut pineapple, toss it. And if it’s a couple of slices packed together, discard all of them. There’s no way to tell if mold spores haven’t reached those seemingly unaffected slices.

Rotten Records: Share Your Snap!

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