To peel or not to peel?

[shoyski]

Okay, everyone knows that the nutrients for a potato is in the skin. How about the carrot? My friend scrubs her carrots instead of peeling them, contending that she will peel off the "good part" of the carrot. If that is true, then why do we bother eating the baby carrots as they look very smooth and appear to have been peeled?

Does this show my ignorance or what?! And does the same go for apples, peaches, etc?

[emilycat]

As far as I know, most of the vitamins of any fruit or vegetable are in the peel; a good rule of thumb is that if you can break the skin with your fingernail, you should eat the peel.
One thing to worry about is pesticides and chemicals, so if the produce is organic, that should be okay, but if not, wash it really well.

I personally always eat the skin of fruits, almost always of veggies (except potatoes because I don't eat potatoes)and only carrots when I'm cooking them.

Emily

[lorilei]

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif
Actually, the nutrients in vegetables does not necessarily reside in the skin. HOWEVER, when cooking vegetables, the skin prevents nutrients from being lost to the cooking process. Additionally, it provides needed roughage to the digestive tract.

I was under this impression for a long time too (that the nutrients were in the skin). There's a discussion about that topic somewhere around here -- will post if I find it. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Aha! Here 'tis: www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/000388.html (http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/000388.html)

[This message has been edited by lorilei (edited 12-07-2000).]

[sneezles]

I wasn't aware that carrots had a skin!?!?

[lorilei]

de-do-de-do
(insert 'Twilight Zone'-esque intro here)

Maybe carrots don't really have skins and all of us have been eating under a false pretense for years and years...

(*shriek*) And peeling unnecessarily, as well!!

[lorilei]

Shoyski's comments provoked me to do a bit more research -- to come up with some additional support for my "nutrients not in the skin" theory.

What I've found (almost unanymously in the sources I've read) is that he nutrients are concentrated just BENEATH the skin, which is why there's such controversy about this topic. However, some vegetable skin DOES contain nutrients. Depends on the veggie.

Here are some of those citations:

"Keep the skins intact on fruits and vegetables. Peeling not only removes the nutrients concentrated just under the skin, but also exposes oxygen-sensitive nutrients, such as vitamin C. The edible skin can be a valuable source of fiber too. Just make sure to clean it well with a brush." http://216.145.167.101/html/FeatureAug00.html



INFO from FIT fruit/veggie wash:
For many types of fresh fruits and vegetables, valuable nutrients are concentrated in the edible skins, outer leaves, and just below the skin. So instead of removing these nutrient-rich parts, just
clean them thoroughly.


The peel on a pear has twice as much vitamin C as the fruit's flesh and is an excellent source of dietary fiber as are the edible outer layers of many horticultural products. http://www.agen.ufl.edu/~fees/pubs/eh214.html

Apparently, there are lots of things to consider when dealing with this topic... and no one clear-cut answer. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Don]

If you are going to leave the skin on potatoes, be sure to check for any greenish spots. I don't fully understand why, but I had a doctor tell me that a greenish tint on a potato skin indicates the presence of toxic fungus. If you cut out the greenish part, the rest of the potato should be fine.

[SusanL]

Have never peeled carrots, whether eating them raw or cooked. It depends on how I am preparing the potatoes, whether I peeled them or not. Do you boil the potato, then peel to make mashed potatoes or peel them first? Or do you boil and mash without peeling at all? This opens a new can of worms.
Thank you lorilei for the info- I see many people at work peeling apples/pears but have never asked them why.

[This message has been edited by SusanL (edited 12-08-2000).]

[shoyski]

Lorilei, you beat me to it! Thanks for going the extra mile.

[ellielk]

Here's the real deal on those bagged 'baby' carrots. They're really cut from larger carrots and aren't truly 'younger' carrots.

Originally posted by shoyski:
Okay, everyone knows that the nutrients for a potato is in the skin. How about the carrot? My friend scrubs her carrots instead of peeling them, contending that she will peel off the "good part" of the carrot. If that is true, then why do we bother eating the baby carrots as they look very smooth and appear to have been peeled?

Does this show my ignorance or what?! And does the same go for apples, peaches, etc?

[lorilei]

Originally posted by ellielk:
Here's the real deal on those bagged 'baby' carrots. They're really cut from larger carrots and aren't truly 'younger' carrots.

You're right ellie -- though I've found that it depends on the manufacturer. Some organic growers actually harvest baby carrots for this purpose (it's generally marked specifically on the bag). I've purchased bags of these, and the flavor is out-of-this-world!

[ElinorC]

The green spot on the potato isn't fungus, it's where the potato was exposed to the sunlight. Potatoes are buried in the dirt when growing and shouldn't have sunlight on them.

[venus]

The green stuff _is_ toxic, as are potato plants.

[lorilei]

I got extraordinarily curious about this green spot issue, so I did a bit of research. Here's what a variety of places had to say:

WASHINGTON STATE POTATO COMMISSION:
Select potatoes that are well-formed, smooth and firm, and without discoloration, cracks, bruises or soft spots. Avoid potatoes with green-tinted skin — “green” potatoes have been exposed to light and can have a bitter taste.

SMARTCOOK:
Always cut out the green spots found on potatoes. These spots are solanine, which are a poison that develops in potatoes that have had prolonged exposure to light.

"The Backyard Predator":
...the tomato, as a member of the Nightshade family, contains a bitter poisonous alkaloid called "Solanine". Solanine is toxic to humans as well, but it requires a much more concentrated amount, like that found in green potatoes and potato sprouts, to induce sickness.

earthtym.net
GREEN SPOTS on potatoes should be understood so as not to result in needless waste nor provoke a hypersensitive reaction. The green marks that may form are in response to the potato growing partly uncovered out of the soil. The sun's radiation stimulates the development of an organic form of phenol [solanine] which acts as a natural insecticide and pesticide. If you have developed a hypersensitivity to chemical phenol, that hypersensitivity will likely expand to include organic phenol as produced under certain conditions in some vegetables ... potatoes are one.

[ElinorC]

Thanks for the information. It seems that we all had good information - just not all of it!

[Don]

Thanks for the information Lorelei! I remembered that there was something toxic about green potatoes, but my old age turned it into a fungus! Now I will know what to say the next time I tell someone not to eat green potatoes.