Pineapple is considered a non-climacteric fruit, which means that it stops ripening once it has been cut from the plant. For this reason, pineapples have to remain within the plant until their bark reaches at least 25% of their natural yellow pigmentation, as well as be harvested with their full pines as a way of assuring the sweetness of the fruit. The natural sugars of the pineapple accumulate during the last 6-8 weeks of the final phase of its development.
The Best Pineapple in the World is sweeter and less acidic in the summer then it is during the winter months.
Given the fact that the highest percentage of sugar is at the base of the fruit, the correct way to cut a pineapple is by cutting it in vertical slices. This way the level of sweetness will be the same in each slice of fruit, containing a sweeter and a more acidic part.