When I was a teenager I started trying to peel my own oranges, but I found that I was not nearly as good at peeling an orange as my mother was. I would squeeze too hard, and some of the juice would run out. When it was finally peeled, the orange looked unappetizing and damaged. It turns out, you need excellent fine motor skills to peel an orange. While I have gotten better at peeling oranges over the years, it still requires time and concentration for me to do a good job of it.
Bow, like me, has real difficulty peeling an orange. He has excellent coordination overall, but certain fine motor skills that most humans take for granted are not available to him. If you give him an orange, he tries to put as much of the unpeeled fruit into his mouth and squeeze and this makes a mess on the floor with all the juice spurting out.
But did you know that there is a perfectly good way to eat an orange without ever peeling it? You can just cut it into quarters with a knife.
I like the Valencia oranges grown locally because the skins are thin enough I can peal these with my fingers. I used to cut oranges into wedges, but I like pealing these with my fingers and eating them when I am alone. I would probably not eat an orange in public this way, as it can be messy. I am excited for around February when lots of local oranges will be in season.
ReplyDeleteJulia, the words Valencia oranges sound so familiar. My grandparents used to have an orchard, and so there was talk about all sorts of different kinds of oranges that I heard. But it's been quite a while since I referred to an orange so specifically.
DeleteWe never ever peeled oranges. They were always sliced into 6 or 8 wedges. Then starting at one corner we'd grab hold with out teeth and peel to the other side so the white would come with it cause that had nutrition and important bulk for the digestive system. That's why we thought tangerines were so fun, those you could peel. I remember my friend had an orange every day with her lunch and she'd always bring this special orange peeler with her; I always thought that was very strange and never understood why her mom didn't just pre slice them.
ReplyDeleteFrieda, I think it's because my mother grew up around orange orchards -- her parents grew fruit professionally -- that she got so good at peeling oranges. I could never match her ability to peel an orange by hand and have every part come out whole and undamaged.
DeleteHowever, it took me years to discover this method of slicing them, I was so accustomed to the way we did it at home. Now that I know how to slice them, there just doesn't seem to be any reason to go back to peeling.
ps watching Bow eat that orange slice just made my day.
ReplyDeleteHe has a way of enjoying food that is contagious!
Delete