When I was a kid I remember adults, particularly my mother, touting the health benefits of the apple peel. Actually peels in general. Actually now that I think about it I was encouraged to eat the apple peel, the potato peel and the bread crust (which, in my childhood mind was equal to peels) and I seem to remember the reason being that most of the nutrients are in the peel.
Well, I am fairly certain that I can debunk the breadcrust-with-more-nutrients idea without research. The crust is made of the same stuff as the rest of the bread. But apples?
Well, according to my in-depth research of one website, livestrong.com, most of the health benefits do, in fact reside in the peel.
Behold:
"Apples are well known for their deliciously sweet and tangy taste and for their rich nutritional value. What you might not know, however, is that the majority of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients found in apples actually reside in the peel. Many people prefer to peel the skin off an apple before eating it, but when you do, you are also peeling away much of its valuable nutritional content"
BUT could there also be bad stuff on the peel? I had a friend tell me the other day that she thought it was okay to take the peel off because pesticides and other nasty things are put on it by the people who want to sell it to you, negating any positive effects it might have on your body.
True? No idea. But you can bet there will be some more research involved in this one.
In the meantime, I would like to share
without using lemon juice.
I use this every time I cut up an apple, in case I don't eat it all at once, but it is most useful when you plan on putting them out as snack to nibble on as you are in and out of the kitchen, or when cutting a lot of apples.
Step 1: Fill a small mixing bowl with enough cold water to about cover cut up apples. (I don't give exact amounts. Don't stress. It's water.) Dissolve a pinch of salt into the water (I swish it around until I can't see salt granules.)
Step 2: Cut up (and peel???) your apples and put them into the bowl as you do so.
Step 3: Swish the apples around in the water to make sure they aren't sticking to each other and drain half the water.
Step 4: Sprinkle apples with just a little bit of Cream Of Tartar and mix until dissolved. Mix it around to coat the apples. Drain and then rinse again with cold water.
Maybe an eighth to a quarter of a teaspoon sprinkled all over and mix. It will dissolve in the water you left in the bowl and hopefully leave your apples tasting like apples. The final rinse is in case any bitter taste does happen to remain.
Step 5: Put into a prettier bowl, if desired (which it is) and eat yummy apples! These apples will last half the day or more without any significant browning. Note that I usually eat Braeburn, Fuji, and Golden Delicious apples. I have not tried this on every variety.
Also, I partially cleaned my kitchen today. *patting myself on the back*
Also, I partially cleaned my kitchen today. *patting myself on the back*
Congratulations on cleaning the kitchen! :) About the pesticides on the peel, I always wash my fruits and vegetables with soap before I cut them. I particularly started doing this when I got pregnant with Lucy because I was so concerned about not getting my growing fetus sick. I learned this from Courtney from work actually. She did it when she was pregnant. Then when there was that listeria outbreak from cantaloupe sold from Colorado and several people died, I vowed to ALWAYS wash EVERY piece of produce before cutting into it. And lastly, the cream of tartar doesn't make your apples taste bad? I don't know what that tastes like but I'd be scared my apples would be bitter or something.
ReplyDeleteI updated the recipe to do a final rinse at the end. It removes any bitter taste, but there is enough residual acid to keep the apples from browning- especially if covered in the refrigerator.
Delete