Peeling satsumas, mandarins, clementines etc

[Pacion]

Not sure if these citrus fruits have the same names in the US (and of course, I do not know what the names are in different languagues :oops: :lol: ) but if you recognise these fruits, do you have any tips for how to peel these fruits without breaking a nail or having a hissy fit?

Satsumas are easy - just press into the centre and the peel breaks.

Mandarins and clementines bring out hissy fits in me :( All suggestions would be grateful (other than throwing them out of a window/not buying them in the first place :roll: :wink: :lol: )

[Chris Stratton]

When the clementines we get here are really ripe, they practically fall out of their peels. Some of them seem to spoil before they ripen though.

[Pacion]

Not here :? When I peel the ones I get, they come off in bits and my fingers feel as if they have been to battle! Satsumas on the other hand come away really easy! :banana:

[jon]

If the skin isn't loose just treat it as any other citrus. I usually score the skin into quarters and lift up at the stem end with a knife, then it tends to come off fairly intact or at least in bigger pieces.

[Sagitta]

No idea what any of these are from just glancing at the names. I usually use a fork for peeling citrus fruit. :wink: :)

[cocodrilo]

This is funny as it reminds me of my first week in Japan! I was staying at a kind of "dorm" until my apartment was ready. When we arrived at the place, the manager of the company I was about to start working for ushered us to our rooms. We were so jet-lagged that we headed straight for the beds! The manager informed us that if we get hungry later on, there are some snacks in the kitchenette. I awoke at the ungodly hour of 3:00am and headed for the kitchenette, my stomach churning with gastric juices as we had not eaten dinner that night. What I found in the kitchen was this; a bag of green tea with miniature popcorn in it, Ritz crackers, peanut butter and some oranges. I first tried one of the oranges and it was so rock-hard I could not manage to peel the damn thing. I thought to myself, if all fruit is like this here, I am heading back home! I later realized that that fruit was a "natsumikan", a rock-hard, bitter variety of Japanese citrus fruit and that the odd-looking tea was "genmaicha", green tea roasted with brown rice (some of which "pops" in the process!). Incidentally, I still don't like those hard citrus fruits, but I LOVE regular old "mikan", which are tangerines. We eat them by the crate in the winter season. :D

[Diavo]

Clementines: Having a nail helps a lot.
Push your nail into the top so you puncture it, then begin peeling in a circular spiral -- it's possible to peel every clementine (ripe or not) so that the peel comes off as *one* long spiral! 8)

[leftfeetnyc]

Spoons.

They make a great substitute for peeling them. Depending on the clemintine, I find they roll out of the peel or get flaky.. The spoon wil let you get under the peel with out breaking nails or getting zest caught under your nails.

If you get good you can manage to make one long coil with the peel by sliding the spoon all the way around.

[Camille]

I use a knife and cut the skin, or i get in a stress and get my boyfreind to peel them for me :roll: I have inch long nails so it is hard for me too peel them.

[Warren J. Dew]

I've found that the skin of mandarin oranges tends to come off in small pieces. They aren't difficult with a short natural thumbnail, but if I didn't have that, I don't know what I'd do.

[cocodrilo]

I've found that the skin of mandarin oranges tends to come off in small pieces. They aren't difficult with a short natural thumbnail, but if I didn't have that, I don't know what I'd do.
That's strange. The tangerines I eat are so easy to peel, you can peel the fruit and leave the peel in one piece! If I keep them around for a couple of weeks, the skin shrinks and they become hard to peel.

[Warren J. Dew]

The mandarin oranges I've had are not tangerines, though it appears some people (mis)use either of the terms broadly enough to include the other.