With its thick, pokey exterior and crown of fronds, judging how ripe a pineapple is can seem ...well, a bit confusing, to say the least. Do you smell it or do you squeeze it? How can you tell?

Well, Helen Gurrera — president of one of NYC's oldest markets, Citarella — is here with her trick for picking out a pineapple that's *exactly* right.

COLOR

If the pineapple is dark green, it's not ripe, and if it's dark orange, it's overripe.

If the store doesn't have a perfect pineapple, Helen advises that you should buy a green one and ripen it at home.

LEAVES

According to Helen, if the leaves come out easily, you know a pineapple is ready to go!

Watch her demonstrate in the video above.

SIZE OF THE EYES

Rach even has a tip of her own!

When she was cooking up this delicious Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken recipe, she shared an awesome tip for how to pick the perfect pineapple that’s straight out of the Aloha State.

“When I was in Hawaii, I learned that the way to judge a pineapple is not by fragrance, it’s by the size of the eyes,” Rach says.

Wait, what?! Who knew?!

“Once it’s picked, it’s ripening. You want the eyes to be uniform in size from the bottom to the top and just have a little bit of give to it when you give it a gentle squeeze.”

Watch her explain in the video below:

Now, may we suggest you make these Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes with your perfect pineapple?