Operational Form: How to peel an Orange

Here are two instruction on how to peel an orange:

Oola

Here’s the link to the original article written by Ashley Austin from Oola.com. Below are the various sets of instruction on this website’s take on the right way of peeling an orange.

Peeling an orange with hands

1. First, start with a ripe orange. Ripeness plays a role in how easy it is to peel. Unripe or old oranges will be difficult to peel. The best orange to peel doesn’t have any bruises, is firm, has a vibrant orange color, and is heavy for its size.
2. Once you have the perfect orange, prepare it for peeling by rolling it between your palm and a flat surface for about 15 seconds. There’s no scientific proof behind this practice, but some claim that it helps loosen the skin. But you’re not trying to Hulk-smash the orange, so be sure not to use too much pressure.
3. Next, using your thumb nail, puncture the skin near the top or bottom of the orange. The skin around the side of the orange is thinner and adheres more to the flesh of the orange, whereas the skin at the top of the orange is thicker and looser.
4. Get a nice grip on the orange skin with your thumb, making sure not to puncture the flesh. Accidents happen, so it’s wise to place a paper towel over the orange just in case you end up puncturing the fruit and sending juice everywhere.
5. Gently begin removing the section of the skin. The larger the section, the easier it will be to peel the rest of the orange. Now that you have one strip off, begin removing the remaining skin. They should come off in large strips.

Photo by Sherzod Max on Unsplash

Peeling with Spoon

1. Start by rolling the orange on a flat surface using your open palm, just as in the aforementioned method. Then, using a sharp knife, make a 1- to 1-1/2-inch cut along the side of the orange. Be sure to avoid cutting all the way through the skin.
2. Next, insert a spoon under the slit you made in the skin. Work the spoon around the flesh of the orange and loosen and tear away the skin.

Peeling with Knife

1. Grab a knife with a pointed tip, preferably a steak knife. Then, insert the tip of the knife into the skin at the top of the orange.
2. Make a slice around the top of the orange in a rotating, sawing motion. The knife should be facing towards you while you peel away the skin. Be sure to use a controlled and steady motion. The skin should come off in one spiraled piece. How satisfying! If a little of the flesh comes off, don’t worry, this method takes some practice.
3. Another way you can use a knife to peel an orange is by making a vertical slice in the orange and peeling away the skin with your fingers. This method isn’t as satisfying as the previous one, but it’s easier than the typical way of peeling an orange.

Photo by Adam Śmigielski on Unsplash

Food and Wine

Written by Hannah Walhout for Food and Wine website and accompanied by a video in which Justin Chapple demonstrates how to peel an orange with a spoon. Link is available here.

All you’ll need is an orange, a spoon and a small paring knife. Score around the center of the orange with your knife—only cut about ⅛ of an inch deep, without puncturing the citrus segments—and then insert the handle of your spoon between the peel and the fruit. Work your way around the orange until you feel the peel beginning to release. You’ll be able to remove half of the peel—in one piece!—in a matter of seconds. For minimal mess, put the peel back on and use it to guard the fruit while removing the other half.

My Version

At first I thought, “who doesn’t know how to peel an orange”. Then google provided a whole lot of website showing different ways of peeling an orange. I chose these two articles without any particular reason to it, except they were on the first page of google. I mean, why should I fall down the rabbit hole of googling more instructions of peeling an orange. Then I tried the instructions myself and I realized, oranges are a messy business. It was actually my grandmother who I first saw opened an orange with no mess. She used a knife so carefully and tidily, and with pose and ease, it was so intimidating. I never tried doing since ever. Thus my fruit basket had never carried an orange in its life. Well, not the big ones. I instead only eat mandarins – smaller, sweeter less messy. So unfortunately, I had to do these instructions to my little tiny mandarins. So if peeling an orange, or in this case, a mandarin, is still something you’d want to learn how to, here’s a set of instructions for you to follow:

1. The easiest is perhaps using the tip of your fingernails. do it on the side where the skin deeps lower. That’s where the skin is thinner. I have quite long claws that can easily puncture the skin of the mandarin but I’m sure cut nails can do the job just as easily.
2. Once punctured, you can pull the skin through towards the other end of the orange, you know, where the little green thing that seems to hold the fruit together. It will tear and that’s fine. Keep going until the skin
3. peel the fruit completely and enjoy!

Mandarins are too small to peel using a knife. So if you’ve mastered the first instructions, just use that one. But if you’re like my grandmother and want to not use your nails or be fancy, the spoon trick is fun to do. I quite enjoyed this one:

1. Get a knife and slit the side of the skin.
2. Let the spoon in through the slit and peel away.

However, the knife trick, I find, is a skill. My grandmother never taught me how to use the knife to open an orange. Now she won’t be able to, because she’s up in the tropics and borders are closed. So here’s how to peel an orange using a knife.

1. Slice through the top of the orange and follow the curve of the orange.
2. Do not give up if your knife skills are zero, because like me I have none. Instead, you can always use my trick. Call a friend, in my case, I forced my husband to finish this task for me, I took the photos, and voila, peeled orange and you don’t need to touch it.
3. Enjoy!

All jokes aside, however you peel an orange, remember that the vitamins you get from eating an orange will boost your immune system, which is vital in our current situation. 🙂 Have fun and stay healthy!