Pineapple is a fruit that pairs well with beef, chicken and some types of fish. While imparting a great deal of flavor, pineapple juice helps tenderize tough cuts of meat. The enzyme in pineapple, bromelain, digests protein, softening the tissues in the meat before cooking it. The juice also imparts a rich, tart flavor to the meat that many people like. The easiest way to tenderize with pineapple is to buy a fresh one and extract the juice from it by using a small kitchen appliance to pulverize it. Most juice manufacturers pasteurize the juice, a process that kills the enzymes that tenderize the protein found in meat so that you should use a fresh pineapple to tenderize the meat.

Put the meat you want to tenderize in a shallow pan and pour the juice or diced pineapple over the meat. If the meat is too thick to cover completely, turn the meat as you marinate it to tenderize all sides. Refrigerate until you are ready to cook. Since the acids in pineapple are strong, do not marinate the meat more than 12 hours, or the acids themselves will start to cook the meat.

Kiwi and lemon zest works the same way of pineapple but with different enzymes and different way – anyhow-, if you don’t have pineapple, you can use lemon or kiwi.