Join the masses around the world who’ll be carving into pineapples, not pumpkins, this Halloween. We’ll be unpacking the reasons why this trend is catching on, plus how you can make your own Jack o’ lantern pineapple.

But swapping out pumpkins for pineapples won’t just save time – they’ll save the planet too. People put out a lot more waste with large pumpkins – and many don’t even use the edible insides of the pumpkin due to inconvenient cooking requirements, with research finding that a whopping 60% of UK pumpkin carvers tossed the pumpkin in the rubbish instead of cooking it.

These scraps begin to add up in landfill, but the problem lies with the methane they emit in the decomposing process – this stuff has a warming effect of over 20 times that of carbon dioxide. Combine this with the fact that Aussie households waste 28% of their food purchases, with the lot of us putting out 80 million tonnes of waste every year, and it's clear to see why so many of us are looking at ways to reduce that wastage, while still making the most of the festivities. With half of all fruit and veggie scraps going to waste around the globe and contributing to landfill and climate change, your best bet is to pick a fruit that’s less likely to go to waste. That’s where pineapples come in!

Pineapple flesh, unlike pumpkin flesh, is ready to eat – no cooking needed! With their smaller size and lower wastage count, they make for a sustainable, tasty and convenient alternative to pumpkins. They’re also a lot easier to carve into, requiring far less elbow grease to get your spooky shapes in. You can shave numerous steps off the Jack o’ lantern-making process considering how much easier this fruit is to hollow out – and you can enjoy a slice of refreshing pineapple while you’re at it! Here’s how to make your very own pineapple lantern.

How to carve your pineapple

Gather your essentials:

• A pineapple
• A chopping block
• A knife
• A dish or bowl
• A candle – battery operated is best!

Follow these easy steps:

1. Using your knife, cut the top of the pineapple off. Be sure to keep the leaves intact – you’ll want these later!
2. Run your knife around the inside of the pineapple skin to loosen the flesh up a bit – if you have a pineapple corer to remove the flesh, this will make your job a little easier.
3. Carve your spooky face into the pineapple – you could go for semi-circle eyes and a zig-zag mouth, or any eerie expression of your choice.
4. Now you’ll be able to access the bottom of the flesh through the mouth, simply use your knife to separate it from the bottom and take it out. Pop it into your bowl to use later – or eat it now! You might even want to use these to make a Pina Colada.
5. You’ll want to pour any liquids out of the pineapple so it’s dry.
6. Now just add your candle in and pop the pineapple top back on, and your pineapple lantern is ready to spook some trick-or-treaters!

Tip: If your pineapple won’t hold still while you’re carving, pop it on a tea towel to keep it in place. 

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