The Art of Eating an Orange!

I’m not sure there really is an Art to Eating an Orange, but it’s the way I grew up eating one.  I honestly believe it’s the best way to savor each and every drop of juice that pours into your mouth, feel the threads of the carpels as you sink your teeth into the meat of the orange while juice oozes from the vesicles, all while you delicately grasp this round, somewhat uneven textured, piece of fruit.

When I was a little girl each and everyday I came home from school my snack of choice was an orange and a pickle.  I know, it sounds weird but I loved having the sweet with the sour, I suppose.  What else could it be?

The way I ate the orange then and now are different however, not by choice.  One day my husband walked into the house just as I was eating my orange the way I like it.  He looked at me and said, “What on earth are you doing?”  I said, “eating an orange.”  He said it was so disgusting the way I ate it, that I quit eating it that way, unless of course no one is at home.

I mean, I don’t want to look disgusting while eating it but then again, why not enjoy it the way I like to, at least in the privacy of my own home!  So when no one is at home, I’ll eat it that way, otherwise I conform when in public.

I know I’ve peaked your curiosity with the way I savor this orange, baseball looking piece of fruit, so I’ll share my eating method but, don’t hold it against me.  In fact, do me a favor – try an orange this way.  PLEASE, report back, with your own critique!

The Art of Eating an Orange
First, wash the skin of the orange to get off any pesticides.  Of course, when I was a child we didn’t know about these things, so I never washed it unless it was covered with dirt.
Slice the orange in half, perpendicular to the stem.
Then, holding one half in your hand, place an edge of the cut side into your mouth and with your upper teeth proceed to scrape the meat of the orange into your mouth.
Once you have gone all the way around the orange doing this, you then squeeze the remaining orange juice into your mouth!
That’s not it, there’s still more?  Now turn the orange inside out, so the remaining meat is arched outward.
With your teeth, peel off the remaining meat and tissue.  Eat and enjoy!
When I was growing up I would toss the skin away.  However, now I use the zest of an orange in a variety of recipes.  If this is something you like to do as well, I’d suggest zesting the orange before devouring the insides.
How awful is this eating method?  Honestly I wasn’t raised in a barn but for some reason this is how I ate them.  No one taught me, it just happened to be the way I found the most satisfaction from my oranges.
How do you eat an orange?  Do you peel the skin away, sectioning out each segment, then placing each half moon in your mouth?  Do you eat it like I’ve described above or do you have your own special way?
If you’ve never tried eating an orange the artsy way, like I love to, then please do, and report back to me, right here. I’d enjoy hearing what you think.
Do you have a favorite way of eating fruit that you would never reveal in front of others?  If so, please share it with us.  We won’t judge you, after all we all have something odd that we do, right?
Words of Caution if eating an orange this way!  Watch out for spurts of juice in your eye and don’t forget the floss, your teeth will need it when your done.  But hey, it’s all worth it.  It’s the most fun you’ll ever have eating an orange. At least I think so!
Click here for more information and tips on this wonderful fruit

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13 comments

  1. I LOVE this post! I eat it one of two ways….I either cut it in segments and suck the juice and leave the rest (it’s a yucky way to eat it) or I cut the peel off entirely and slice (rather than segment) the orange. For some reason – the half moons have that yucky segment peel that I just can’t eat in large quantities!

  2. Thank you so much for posting your comment Ann. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one that eats oranges an unconventional way. It certainly is more fun!

  3. Love it! What a fun post…and hey it’s your orange right! I have a bit of a weird way too, to some anyway. I slice them into wheel like slices, pinch the rind then remove it. Then take each section and eat it.
    Actually mine might be stranger, as it takes quite awhile, lol…

  4. What an interesting post! Actually i do eat an orange pretty much every day with my breakfast. Its full of great nutritional goodies, and yes, I suppose i do have a particular way of eating them. I cut them into 8ths and peel off each individual section one by one. Your way sounds messy, but loads of fun 😀
    *kisses* HH

  5. Magic of Spice and Heavenly Housewife, thank you so much for your post. I’m beginning to feel not so awkward about the way I like to eat an orange.

    It’s so nice to know from those of you that have posted your comments that we each have our own unique way of eating this piece of fruit. I still wouldn’t eat it that way outside of my home but now I can tell my family I’m not so strange.

    Thanks for your comments.

  6. I eat mine almost the same way as you do…except I cut mine into quarters, and it only take one or two bites, and can still get the juice, and the pulp without making such a mess. I don’t have the patience to peel and break into segments.
    Cute post, very entertaining:DDD

  7. Well that would a lot less messy! I’ll have to try it like that when I’m in a hurry.

    Thanks for your post and for sharing your way of eating an orange. I never realized there could be so many different ways.

  8. For me, it depends how I’m feeling that day! Sometimes I eat it the way you’ve described, but after cutting it into fourths instead of halves because it’s easier to get at that way… And sometimes I peel the whole thing and eat it segment by segment. How do you eat them in front of your husband now? 😉

    @}—-Rosie

  9. When I eat them in front of my husband or anyone else I will peel the entire orange and then separate each segment. I then eat each half moon. It’s still great but not as much fun!

    Thank you for your post.

  10. This is a fun topic, Vicki. I have eaten an orange your way many times. In fact, I remember when my Grandmother moved to California from Minnesota many years ago, she loved the California oranges, and would eat them your way.

    My preferred way to eat them is to cut them in half and then cut each half in thirds. It’s making my mouth water to think of a yummy orange.

    I don’t know that I could do the pickle with it though. 🙂

  11. Well that sounds like a great way to eat oranges, Loretta. You know maybe I don’t remember but my grandmother lived with us. Maybe she ate them that way and I just don’t recall. I’ll have to think on that one.

    Yes I’m not sure what the deal was with the pickles but there wasn’t a day I went without pickles and oranges. An odd combination and I think it must have kept me skinny because I was a string bean!

    I still love oranges and pickles but I don’t eat them together.

    Thanks for your post!

  12. GREAT way to eat an orange!

  13. I cut the orange into many slices. Then i take each orange slice and eat it standing over the kitchen sink. Whenever I’m done extracting all the sweet goodness from each slice, I wash sticky hands and that’s the end. 

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