Break down a whole pineapple into clean spears by topping, peeling, removing the eyes, and coring it.
Lay the pineapple on its side on a sturdy cutting board. With a sharp chef's knife, slice off the leafy crown and about 1/2 inch of the bottom so you have two flat, stable ends. Stand it upright on the flat base.
Following the curve of the fruit, cut downward in strips to remove the prickly skin, taking off as little flesh as possible. Work your way around until all the skin is gone. You'll see brown "eyes" still embedded in the surface.
The eyes run in spiral rows. Cut shallow V-shaped grooves that follow those diagonal lines, removing a strip of eyes at a time. This wastes far less fruit than cutting deep to dig each one out individually.
Slice the peeled pineapple lengthwise into quarters. Lay each quarter on its side and cut away the firm, pale core strip running along the inner edge. Then slice each cored quarter into spears or bite-size chunks.