There's a Better Way to Peel an Orange, According to TikTok

Oranges are a pain in the ass. First off, they’re wildly inconsistent. Sometimes, they’re heaven. Other times, they’re flavorless mush. Of course, to even find out, you need to peel them—a term that really undersells the struggle. A traditional orange holds onto its peels for dear life. Soccer kids are onto something with the whole “orange slice” thing: No peeling, instant access to the fruit.

Sure, clementines peel easier, but they’re still annoying AF. You’ll be left with pieces of peel everywhere, including under your fingernails. It’s impossible to eat these things without turning yourself at least a little orange, and I don’t feel like scrubbing my hands like I’m prepping for surgery every time I eat a little snack.

There’s a better way to peel an orange, though—one that doesn’t involve rolling the fruit on a table, or desperately digging your fingernails through its tough skin.

The better way to peel an orange

This TikTok changed everything for me. In it, TikTok user kevglbach stitches a video of lolwutalan’s, who both show the best way to “peel” an orange. First, slice the orange in half, then take one of those halves and flip it inside out. As you push on the back of the orange, the fruit flowers out, making it easy to pick off and eat. Boom: Instant snack.

Now, these TikToks seem to show the method off using a clementine or mandarin orange. I’d be curious to see if this is effective with a larger orange. One TikTok commenter says it doesn’t work well with “hard fresh oranges,” which would seemingly rule that out. But I wonder if it’d work with large oranges that were on the softer side. If so, I might have to start adding more oranges to my daily diet.

Sure, this method wouldn’t do anything about the inconsistent taste, but that’s a lifehack for another time.