Are Oranges/Kiwis/Grapefruits Skins Editable?

[Up LEAP 100 Billion]

Hi,

This is probably a stupid question! If organic, can one actually eat a whole orange including its skin and the white pith inside it. What about kiwis, grapefruits, satsumas etc? I think I once heard Dr Schulze say you can eat a whole organge with the skin but I've NEVER seen anyone do this... everyone I've seen cuts an orange, kiwi, grapefruit in half and scoop out the insides. I'm sure you can eat orange skins etc but haven't seen anyone do it. I keep hearing how the skins or fruits and veg are the most nutritous!! I don't want to lose out on any important nutrients that are in the skin and not inside the fruit! Any insight to this would be great!

Thanks

[SNMB]

Don't know about citrus but I have always eaten the kiwi skin. Its tart flavor is a very good contrast to the sweet green part.

[Up LEAP 100 Billion]

Hi,

Good to see someone else young on here (I checked your journal!).

That;s great to know that kiwi skins are edible, but anyone else... what about other fruits such as citrus, lemons, orgnages, limes, satsumas etc.. and mango skins!

[Shan]

I think I would do some research on what skins are edible. If I'm not mistaken I think that some fruit skins can make you sick. A lot of skins have stuff in them to ward of bugs and birds etc.

[Spectatrix]

Mango skins can be highly allergenic, so don't eat those. Citrus skins are edible (many people blend whole citrus fruits for smoothies), but are pretty bitter due to the pith. I'd recommend just try eating a small bit of the skin with a fruit to begin with to see how you like the taste and whether it affects your body negatively.

[rawpriestess]

YEP, you can eat the skins of citrus, we often add them to the ice cream we make or smoothies (I don't care for smoothies personally) but our friends do.


Grapefruit skin is a little tart for me, but the orane and lime and lemon is good, and the tangerines, clementines etc, we save and freeze and use in our raw cakes, it really adds a great flavor to them. So we always save those,

we also dehydrate organe rinds, and then grind them up and use in spells, pot pouree, and frostings and cakes sometimes too,and in drinks, they are great, and a fantastically intoxicating fragrance too.

[tinystrawberry]

i always eat my kiwi whole, but im not sure about the other fruits.

[Brianna]

It's really good to eat the pith of citrus fruits because it contains lots of alkaline minerals, especially calcium. Also, there are a lot of bioflavonoids there in the pith.

[lavendarJ]

I would not eat any orange (or tangerine and other close relatives) peel skins as I have read that the orange part is highly toxic. I am trying to think of the articles/websites that I researched this on. I read stuff about orange peels years ago from a whole variety of authors and I noticed that was one of common threads they had regarding orange peels. I just decided not to eat the orange part but I try to eat the "pith" (the white part on the underside of the peel) as that is supposedly the most nutritional part. Who knows? I don't know but I willing to buy into it because I don't really think the "organic" fruits and veggies are as "organic" as the growers would like me to believe.

[heabrook]

I definitely wouldn't eat the skins if the fruit wasn't organic.. well I wouldn't eat any part of the fruit if it wasn't organic actually :p

Grapefruit skins are great. I haven't tried eating kiwi skins though.. it seems they would be kinda chewy and hairy.

[Tirza]

Eat the pith, don't eat the pith;
Eat the skin, don't eat the skin;
Organic or not

Well, the third one is easy. Definitely best to eat organic.

I would like to see something definitive about the pith and skin though, besides personal preference.

Question: Where does everyone think that orange and lemon rind, commonly used in SAD baking, come from?

[madmel]

Wow, I never even thought about chewing my orange whole... Honestly!

Heabrook: How do you eat the skin of grapefruit? Just with the grapefruit or by itself?

mel

[Up LEAP 100 Billion]

This has left me a bit confused now! It looks like I'll just leave majority of skins alone then but I always hear the skin is the most nutrious part, whether it be a potato skin, cucumber skin or apple skin! When you see those nutrional breakdown charts on the back of foods (in this case fruit)... does the nutritional breakdown chart include the whole thing including skins? JUst thinking naturally, we would of had to put out teeth into the skin of an organge rather then use a knife to open it, so even then just putting our teeth into it would still be consuming a tiny part of the skin, so I can't see how it could be toxic. Maybe I should just go with - if it tastes good, eat it.

[jenna rose]

I only edit the skins if they are not organic. :p

[heabrook]

Wow, I never even thought about chewing my orange whole... Honestly!

Heabrook: How do you eat the skin of grapefruit? Just with the grapefruit or by itself?

mel

I don't eat all of the skin but I do eat some of it. I eat it with the grapefruit because I like the taste combination.

I want a grapefruit now but that peak season is nearly over. We were buying huge bags of organic grapefruits but now they only sell them individually by the pound and the price skyrocketed. :(

I only eat ruby reds. I had an allergic reaction to the white grapefruits (aka oro blanco grapefruits)

[jenna rose]

That's interesting, though, that some people eat the skins of oranges and grapefruits.

I was -always- taught to never eat that part yet I would always eat the skin of apples, cucumbers, peaches, etc etc

[Lay-Lay]

I use the skins in alot of gourmet recipes

and in juices and smoothies, yummy!

[SNMB]

JUst thinking naturally, we would of had to put out teeth into the skin of an organge rather then use a knife to open it, so even then just putting our teeth into it would still be consuming a tiny part of the skin, so I can't see how it could be toxic.

I only use my fingers to peel oranges, so I don't get any of the skin in what I eat, really. The peel is a protective layer. Things that grow in warm, humid climates often have this. Think of pineapples, coconuts, durians, mangosteens, lychees, avocados, bananas. Things that grow in cooler, less humid climates (like Washington State, where I live) have less skin. Think of apples, berries, cherries, pears. So if you went by that (by the way I have no scientific evidence of this, just what I've figured out through travel) I'd think you wouldn't necessarily eat the skin.