Sometimes, even the simplest food prep tasks can feel intimidating. And an everyday fruit that might pose some trouble is an orange. Slice into the citrus, and there’s an intricate network of membranes, piths, and juicy flesh. Yet the aim is to simply isolate some perfect orange bites, free of peel and large membrane strands.
Thankfully, with the right technique, peeling an orange requires minimal effort. Begin by placing the fruit on its side and cutting it in half, revealing the beautiful arrangement of segments. Then, place your thumbs on the exterior’s center and your fingers on the flesh, and push the fruit inside out. This will separate the slices, which you can then easily pull off the peel while removing membrane material. And since the fruit was cut in half, each orange segment already comes in two pieces, making for some easy snacking.
The method’s easy to get a hang of, and it works for many citrus varieties, whether you have raspberry or blood oranges, clementines, or a larger fruit. Ideal for prepping lunches or hosting a party, it’ll ease the stress of peeling many oranges at a time.
What to do with your orange peels
With the peeling hack at work, you’ll breeze through bags of the citrus in no time. Consequently, you’ll be left with a whole lot of peel, which still remains mostly intact — after all, there was no finger-digging involved. At first glance, this foodstuff appears as simply scrap, but there’s a sea of potential uses for it.
For instance, instead of throwing out the orange peels, use them to keep pests away. The citrus is full of oils that repel certain insects, so soak the peels in vinegar, then bottle into a spritzer for a nifty reuse. If you’re extra careful during the peeling process and keep the stem attached, you could even turn each half of the peel into a fragrant candle. Fill with olive oil, soaking the pith stem so it’s flammable for lighting, and it will release an all-natural fragrance for a surprisingly extended duration.
And finally, use those peels in drinks. Save wide peel strips for an easy way to make your old fashioned better; the garnish is a cocktail classic for good reason. And you can even infuse the peels into vodka, making a sprayable essence that boosts a tipple’s aromatics at a moment’s notice.
