What to use instead of pineapple juice
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Sweet-tart base in a tropical drink
It carries sugar and acid in the same pour, and the pulp gives the drink body and the thick foam that comes up when you shake it.
Orange juice plus lime juiceRan out
3/4 cup orange juice + 2 tbsp lime juice per 1 cup pineapple juice
Brighter and more citric. The drink loses the tropical smell that carries a painkiller or a pina colada.
Mango nectar plus lime juiceRan out
3/4 cup mango nectar + 1 tbsp lime juice per 1 cup
Thicker and sweeter with less bite, and it barely foams when shaken. Cut any syrup in the recipe by half.
White grape juice plus lime juiceRan out
3/4 cup white grape juice + 2 tbsp lime juice per 1 cup
Neutral sweetness that keeps a blue hawaii clear instead of cloudy. Flat on flavour, so lean on the garnish.
Guava or passionfruit nectarRan out
1:1
Much more perfume and a lot more body, so the drink comes out thicker. Passionfruit brings back the sharpness that mango loses.
What doesn't work: Pineapple soda or pineapple syrup. Sugar runs two or three times higher with no acid to balance it, and the fizz collapses the moment it meets ice in a shaker.
Sweet acid in a cooked sauce or glaze
Heat kills the enzyme in the juice and leaves sugar and fruit acid, which reduce into a glossy sauce that clings to fried pork or chicken.
Orange juice plus rice vinegarRan out
3/4 cup orange juice + 1 tbsp rice vinegar per 1 cup pineapple juice
Reduces the same and tastes clearly of orange. Slightly less body, so give it another minute in the pan.
Apple juice plus rice vinegarRan out
1 cup apple juice + 1 tbsp rice vinegar per 1 cup
Clean and neutral. The sauce is paler and misses the tropical note that makes sweet-and-sour taste like takeaway.
Syrup drained from a tin of pineappleRan out
1:1, and cut the recipe sugar by half
Much sweeter and thicker straight out of the tin, so the sauce reaches glaze stage sooner and can catch.
What doesn't work: Fresh pineapple juice in a marinade left overnight. Bromelain keeps breaking down protein until it is heated, and pork or chicken sitting in it more than about 30 minutes goes mushy and grainy on the outside. Tinned juice is pasteurised, so it sweetens without the enzyme.