In a bid to embrace more tactile, analogue experiences, I decided to try Rosamund Pike's viral no-knife method for eating a pineapple. The technique, originally shared in a 2021 video but recently reposted on TikTok, promises effortless, hand-dismembered fruit. The reality was rather different.
Pike's method involves using your thumbs to worry off the woody base of the pineapple, then popping out perfect chunks. She makes it look elegant and easy, with a soft 'pop' and a look of naughty surprise. My attempt began with chipping away at the base with my nails until I could get my thumb in – a sensation described as 'warm, astringent and deeply weird'.
Prising the plug out proved far harder. Despite my best efforts, the pineapple gushed juice but the base wouldn't budge. I heaved and pulled fruitlessly, like a vet trying to deliver a stuck lamb. Even when I created enough space to access the chunks, I could only rip off jagged messes of skin. The pineapple was massacred, my hands were sticky, and my pride was bruised.
In the end, I learned two things: Hollywood A-listers are made of steely stuff, and pineapples are deeply stubborn. The embodied experience was certainly full of friction – but not the mindful joy I had hoped for.
