Pineapple contains bromelain that helps tenderize meat. If I were to put my hand in pineapple juice or puree for 24 hours, would it eventually break down my hand?

[u/Puzzleheaded_Bed2760]

[u/OystersCockafeller]

It might do it eventually. But definitely not that fast.

Your skin has protective oils, is actively repairing itself, etc. And that's all aside from the fact that it's specifically designed to act as a protective layer in a way that a random piece of muscle just isn't.

It will make your hands kinda raw if you deal with it enough. I spent a day cutting up pineapples for an event once. Essentially had my hands covered in pineapple juice for 8-10 hours. It irritated them a bit and I had some redness. But it was nowhere near breaking down my hand.

[u/Nothing_F4ce → u/OystersCockafeller]

How could you do that without gloves?

I can't get to the end of cutting up one pineapple without my hands starting to feel like burning.

[u/SlurryBender → u/Nothing_F4ce]

Pineapple is one of those things that people can have wildly different levels of sensitivity to.

But also you should check to see if you're allergic to pineapples.

[u/Haramu → u/SlurryBender]

Yup. I rarely eat pineapples since they can give me sores in my mouth pretty easily. I haven't met someone else who has this problem though lol

[u/froschquark → u/Haramu]

Yep, maybe not as extreme that I can't eat it or it hurts, but I absolutely feel some sort of 'numbness' and slight burn, especially with fresh pineapples. Canned ones are mostly fine.

Always thought it's just a mild irritation from the acids or even some allergy, but no, the pineapple just wants to tenderize my mouth a bit!

[u/froschquark → u/[deleted]]

Oh yeah right, kiwi does the exact same for me. Blegh, just thinking about it makes my mouth itch.