I’ve seen this gadget hanging in the produce department of grocery stores and also watched as infomercial pitchmen easily twisted the device into whole pineapples and pulled out perfectly formed rings. A few co-workers and I figured it was time to give this gadget a try.

Manufacturer: OXO and Bradshaw International Inc.

Does it work? I couldn’t get it to work, but entertainment writer John Berger did.

I got shreds of pineapple instead of pretty rings, and I couldn’t push and twist the slicer all the way to the bottom of the fruit.

Berger said he had no problems using the OXO slicer, so I asked him to show me. While he did get about 10 pineapple rings, he also got a little more than a handful of shredded pineapple. And getting those results was no easy task. I had to hold the pineapple for him, and several of the rings broke when we removed the gadget.

I also tested a second plastic pineapple gadget recommended by an out-of-town uncle. It wasn’t as fancy as the OXO — the differences being that the OXO has a ratchet and lines on the tube to measure the pineapple’s height so you know when to stop twisting. Basically, both work the same way: Push down and twist at the same time.

Pros: The gadget did separate out the core and left behind a nice pineapple bowl of juice that my cousin’s three girls enjoyed drinking with straws. And the hollowed-out fruit would be cool for a kitschy party.

Cons: You have to be Superman to push the pineapple slicer through the fruit. Well, not Superman, but someone very strong. Also, my uncle said the cutting edges on his slicer wore down quickly, so he had to throw his away after using it on about 10 pineapples. And, depending on the size of the pineapple, a lot of meat goes to waste, left attached to the rind and at the bottom of the fruit.

Cost: $4-$11 on various websites and at Target and some grocery stores.

Worth it? Unfortunately, no.