Why You Shouldn't Overlook Canned Pineapple

When it comes to eating fruits and vegetables, most people just head straight to the produce department at their local grocery store. It's hard to beat the flavor and texture of fresh produce, and something about it just feels "better" for you than the canned or frozen types. But aside from all the canned food myths out there, the reality is that there are plenty of situations in which choosing canned fruit over fresh just makes sense — especially in the case of pineapple.

Fresh pineapple has a nice, crunchy sweetness, as well as a brightness that the canned stuff can't exactly compete with; however, canned pineapple has two other major positives: simplicity and pineapple juice. Cutting a pineapple yourself isn't always easy since pineapples can be tough, and you have to be careful because you need a sharp knife. Plus, getting that fresh pineapple juice is possible, but you'll need the right tools to do it. If you use canned pineapple, you can skip all the difficult juicing because the juice is right there in the can. Not to mention that you can keep canned pineapple on hands for months — just stock up when it's on sale and always have it on hand.

Simplicity is as major benefit to using canned pineapple, but there is something to keep in mind: Canned pineapple is sometimes stored in a sugary syrup rather than juice. When shopping, keep an eye out for the kind stored in juice if that's what your recipe needs; it's less sugar overall, too. Cost-wise, canned pineapple is almost always less expensive than its fresh counterpart, so you're also saving a bit of money going this route.

Canned pineapple can last up to 18 months unopened. However, once you open it, the fruit will only stay edible for up to a week in the refrigerator. Fresh pineapple is about the same, staying fresh for around six days. Nutritionally, fresh pineapple does have more vitamin C than canned pineapple due to the heating process, but if you're just looking for flavor and ease, canned pineapple often makes more sense.

Canned pineapple comes in handy for a number of recipes. You can turn canned juice into a marinade for chicken or steak, where the acidic flavor from the juice will infuse nicely into the meat, but the dish doesn't actually need the color or texture of fresh pineapple. You can also use it in fruit smoothies or summer cocktails, where other elements change the color and that distinct bright yellow from fresh pineapple isn't necessary. If you're baking with pineapple rings, such as in a pineapple upside down cake, then the canned rings are actually better because they're always the same size, flavor, and texture. They'll look uniform in presentation and taste exactly the same no matter what can they come from. The same can't be said for fresh.

Surprisingly, if you're making any kind of gelatin, you'll also need to use canned. That's because there is a certain protein in fresh pineapple that would break down the gelatin if mixed with it, but since the canning process heats the pineapple, that protein deactivates. Though there is often perception that fresh fruit is best, there are a number of times where this just isn't the case.