Parts of produce that aren’t often seen as edible — like cores, seeds, and peels — usually go to waste, but they can actually be repurposed for surprisingly useful purposes in the kitchen. One example is the core of a pineapple, which can be turned from a hard-to-chew bit of fruit into a refreshing and delicious ingredient.

You can transform your pineapple core into a summer-y pineapple syrup, which you can use to add a sweet pineapple flavor to a range of dishes. It can be used for breakfast with waffles or pancakes, as a sweetener in tea or lemonade, poured over ice cream, or as a tropical, flavorful substitute for simple syrups in cocktails.

Simply take the core and other non-skin trimmings from your pineapple and add them to a glass bowl with granulated sugar and the rind of a juiced lemon. The acid in the core can dissolve about half its weight in sugar, so just cover and leave it in the fridge until all the sugar has dissolved, stirring occasionally, then strain.