Under $25 scores: This $13 pineapple coring and slicing tool saves me so much money | CNN Underscored

As an organizing expert, single-use kitchen tools are among the items that I caution people against buying. In my own life, I avoid bringing them into my home. Over the years, I’ve quietly donated, regifted or thrown out strawberry hullers and mini crockpots and spoon hooks and loads of other seemingly clever but actually pretty useless kitchen tools that well-meaning people have given as gifts.

So it is with no small amount of care and consideration that I make this recommendation to you: This pineapple corer and slicer is a fantastic kitchen tool that deserves a place in many (not all!) kitchens. Let me tell you why I think so!

I bought the pineapple coring and slicing tool after seeing it on “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” It’s important that you know that this review is a deeply honest review.

The pineapple tool showed up as, essentially, a party trick on “RHOC” and as a party trick, it is an eye-catching one! Because the pineapple tool, once it has been used to core and cut the flesh of a pineapple into rings, leaves behind an intact pineapple husk (bark? What is outer pineapple called?) that can be used to serve drinks. I have done this several times and it is currently my most impressive party trick!

But party tricks alone are not enough to make me recommend that you bring a single-use kitchen tool into your home.

Enter: Math.

While the party trick was what drew me to the pineapple tool, I pulled the trigger on buying it after a simple ROI calculation. By my back-of-the-envelope math, the pineapple corer/slicer paid for itself in three pineapples. Pre-cut pineapple is expensive!

I bought the tool when it was $11; at the time, a whole pineapple was $2.99 and a roughly equivalent quantity of pre-cut pineapple was at least $6.99. That $4 savings meant that when I cut into the third whole pineapple I purchased after acquiring the pineapple tool, I had officially earned back the money I spent on it. And: Because pineapples can be unwieldy to cut using a knife, resulting in waste, investing in the coring and slicing tool meant that I was maximizing the whole pineapple purchase by getting as much sweet flesh out of it as possible.

However, there are some cons to the pineapple tool: One, it is awkward to store, so if kitchen storage is limited, you’ll want to really think about whether you want to dedicate drawer or shelf space to it. Two, at a time when a head of cauliflower can cost ten dollars, spending $11-$15 on a gadget that isn’t strictly necessary may not be where you want to put your money.

The pineapple tool makes quick work of hollowing out the flesh of a pineapple into rings, which can then be cut into chunks using a complementary slicing tool, which is included in the bundle.

To use the tool, start by cutting the top off the pineapple. Stand the pineapple on its base, center the blade on top of the pineapple’s flesh, and turn the handle while bearing down to screw the blade into the pineapple. When you’ve reached the bottom, simply pull up to extract the pineapple, which the slicer has cut into a ribbon of perfect rings, from its core and husk (bark? Seriously, what are we calling this??)

Once it’s sliced into rings, the pineapple can be stored as is (and wouldn’t you know that a perfectly sliced ribbon of pineapple fits perfectly in my homely-but-beloved food storage containers?!?) or cut into chunks. The tool comes with a round plastic slicer that quickly turns the pineapple rings into pineapple chunks.

People who love pineapple! I am a person who loves pineapple, and I eat enough of it that having a tool dedicated to its preparation makes sense for me. If you are also a person who loves pineapple, this tool might be a smart purchase for you.

If you are a person who frequently buys frozen pineapple to use in smoothies, this tool may also be a good buy: Cutting a whole pineapple into chunks and freezing them will save quite a bit of money.

Home mixologists, too, may want to consider investing in the pineapple tool. Fresh pineapple and its juice are kicky ingredients for use in cocktails and mocktails alike and, of course, serving drinks in a hollowed out pineapple brings a lot of pizazz to home entertaining. If I were me, and I am, I would also consider inviting some non-consumable garnishes like cocktail umbrellas to the party.