Q Re Oranges?

[potato_moose]

I was just peeling an orange for my toddler, and the fruit really clung to the peel. As I was peeling it, the fruit was coming out in big chunks. Then it didn't want to separate easily into sections. Each "section" encompassed about 1 1/2 of the naturally occurring sections in the orange.

This seems to be happening to me a lot lately, and since I didn't eat many oranges before I had kids, I don't have a lot to compare it to. (I'm more of an apples girl ;)) I've nearly convinced myself that oranges have always been like this and I just never noticed.

Anybody have an explanation? Are these oranges too mature? Have they been sitting in a warehouse too long? Are they under ripe? Or is this just what oranges do?

I Googled this several different ways and didn't manage to even come close to finding the right site.

[ljt2r]

I don't know but you are not alone. I totally do not find oranges to be worth the effort--especially not after a winter of eating easy to peel clementines. :)

[Hammster]

Hmm, I've never had that happen before. Normally I buy Navel oranges and they peel very easily. I wonder if juice oranges, such as Valencias, tend to have a tighter fitting skin? I don't usually eat juice oranges out of hand, so I haven't observed that problem.

[potato_moose]

Hmm, I've never had that happen before. Normally I buy Navel oranges and they peel very easily. I wonder if juice oranges, such as Valencias, tend to have a tighter fitting skin? I don't usually eat juice oranges out of hand, so I haven't observed that problem.

I just checked and according to the sticker these are navel oranges.

[Hammster]

I just checked and according to the sticker these are navel oranges.

Dang, that sucks...


What you might try is to cut the orange into 4ths or 8ths or some manageable size for your toddler. Then lay each wedge skin side down and using a paring knife or other relatively flexible knife, filet the flesh away from the skin. Sort of like what one does to get the skin off of a filet of fish.

[ljt2r]

We only eat navel oranges, Hammster, but I would be willing to bet it could be because you can get them a lot fresher (I am guessing, being in SoCal). I haven't been able to easily peel an orange, well, ever. It's why I never eat them despite being a citrus fiend and loving clementines. I avoid tangerines--my personal favorite juice-wise--for the same reason.

[Hammster]

We only eat navel oranges, Hammster, but I would be willing to bet it could be because you can get them a lot fresher (I am guessing, being in SoCal). I haven't been able to easily peel an orange, well, ever. It's why I never eat them despite being a citrus fiend and loving clementines. I avoid tangerines--my personal favorite juice-wise--for the same reason.

That's a good thought, ljt2r. Possibly so.

[funniegrrl]

I always eat navel oranges. I haven't noticed the peeling issue one way or another because I don't peel them. I cut in half lengthwise, then each half again crosswise, then eat each quarter down to the peel. Not as messy as peeling first and a whole lot faster.

[potato_moose]

I always eat navel oranges. I haven't noticed the peeling issue one way or another because I don't peel them. I cut in half lengthwise, then each half again crosswise, then eat each quarter down to the peel. Not as messy as peeling first and a whole lot faster.

That would work well for myself, but for my 3 year old daughter...the last time we did it that way she ended up with orange juice all over her face and in her hair, not to mention I had to watch her closely to make sure she didn't eat the peel.

I guess what is messy depends on who you are, LOL!

I might try what Hammster suggested next time.

[Angelina]

Does everybody always take off the thin peel from the orange's insides? I just roughly take off the outside peel, then scrape down the pith and eat...sometimes pieces will come off with the peel, but mostly it doesn't.

Still, the season for oranges is pretty much over, isn't it?

[Anne]

I think the ease of peeling has something to do with the ripeness of the fruit and how long its been in storage. Fresh, ripe fruit seems to have a thicker peel that is easy to remove, as the fruit gets past peak maturity or is stored a long time the peel thins and is harder to remove. The skins on green bananas are very thick, ripe bananas have intermediate skins and banana bread bananas have thin skins. It seems to me that the same applies to oranges. The ones I've had a hard time peeling have been on the dry side - so I assume this means over-ripe or too long since picked. However, I'm much more of an expert on snowballs than oranges so this is a guestimate, not science.

[mizqueen]

I second Hammster's idea - that's what I do when they are a problem. We eat a lot of oranges - 5 lbs. every single week between 2 of us. Navels in the winter and Valencias in the winter. I think the peel issue is ripeness related, as I;ve noticed the first couple bags when the season switches are a real bear to peel. DH has another method - he slices off the stem just to the top of the sections, then uses a small spoon held upside down (so the curve matches the orange curve) and slides it between the sections and the peel.

[swquilts]

We have a navel tree and sometimes I have a hard time peeling them. Go figure....

We also have a mandarin orange (Satsuma) tree and I completely agree about peeling them and then doing an orange....why bother! :D