Fresh fruit for sale by Joe Van Dyke Farms in Blythe, Ca. at the Las Vegas Farmers’ Market at Gardens Park in Summerlin Tuesday, August 2, 2011.
Monday, Aug. 8, 2016 | 2 a.m.
It sounds so easy: Peel a piece of fruit. But chances are you’ve been doing it wrong, or at least with the efficiency of a kid wearing old ski gloves.
Don’t let the fruit win! Peel it right and you’ll find that in addition to feeling pretty pumped, you’re left with more deliciousness to enjoy.
Strawberry
1. Use a plastic drinking straw. Push the straw through the middle of the bottom of the strawberry.
2. On its way through, it will poke out the strawberry’s green stem.
Cherry
1. Pit cherries using a chopstick. Push the chopstick through the stem end of the cherry, and the pit will pop out the other side.
Apple
1. Use a potato peeler to peel a ring around the top and bottom of a whole apple.
2. Then, peel the sides by swiping the peeler downward in long strokes.
3. To core the apple, cut off one side of the fruit, just past the center to avoid the seeds. Angle your knife inward to cut more fruit from the bottom.
4. Turn the apple, and repeat on each of the remaining sides. You will be left with a core, and four thick apple chunks.
Pineapple
1. Using a large serrated knife, cut off the top and bottom so a large circle of yellow flesh is visible on each end.
2. Then, cut the pineapple in half lengthwise.
3. From the center of one half, cut a V-shaped wedge to remove the tough core.
4. With the flesh side up, run your knife around the inner edge of the fruit to remove the skin. Make your cut about a half-inch in to remove the pineapple’s “eyes” with the skin. Repeat with the other half, slice and enjoy.
Avocado
1. Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit by pulling it out with your fingers or prying it out with a spoon.
2. Cut each half in half again to make quarters.
3. Starting at the thinnest point, peel back the skin. It should come away easily, without bruising the avocado’s creamy flesh.
Pomegranate
1. Cut the pomegranate in half, in whatever direction ensures the cut does not pass through the crown.
2. Don’t worry if your knife doesn’t cut all the way through. Simply score the pomegranate deeply, then pull each side in opposite directions to split it.
3. Take one half and pull the edges outward to loosen the seeds.
4. Turn the pomegranate half face down in a bowl, and hit the peel with a wooden spoon. The edible seeds will fall into the bowl.
Peach
Did you know?
You can use this same method for tomatoes.
1. Make two small cuts to form an “X” on the bottom of the peach.
2. Then, blanch the peach for two minutes in boiling water.
3. Remove the peach and place it in ice water for one minute.
4. The skin will be loose enough to peel, starting with the “X.” Cut the peach in half to remove the pit.
Kiwi
1. Cut off one end of the kiwi.
2. Slide a teaspoon into the cut side at the edge against the skin.
3. Push the spoon around the inner circumference of the kiwi, then push down and pull out. The edible center will come out on the spoon.
Watermelon
1. Using a large serrated knife, cut a thin slice off each end of the melon.
2. Cut the melon in half, then flip over each side.
3. In small lengthwise sections, cut the rind off the sides of the melon without cutting off too much flesh.
4. To chop the watermelon, place your hand flat on the top of the peeled melon half, then slice the melon horizontally in thick circles.
5. Cut the slices vertically to make chunky cubes.
Mango
1. Slice off each half lengthwise just past the center to avoid the pit of the fruit.
2. Take one half, and using a clean, tall drinking glass, press the top lip of the glass between the mango peel and flesh.
3. Holding the glass tightly, slide the mango down it, pushing in and down against the peel. The edge of the glass will separate the mango flesh.
Banana
Did you know?
This is how apes peel their bananas!
1. Rather than wrestle with the stem and risk damaging your fruit, pinch the bottom of the banana peel, and pull the peel outward.
2. The banana will come unpeeled easily and without bruising.
Orange
1. Score the orange around its center at its widest part. Cut on the circumference that does not include the stem.
2. Use your thumb to separate the peel from the pulp, then pull up from the center. Each half of the orange will peel in one large piece.
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