What Is the Best Way to Peel Apples?

Some people like to use an apple peeling machine, which is fast and able to peel, core and slice an apple in one go. However, these machines don't allow for different slicing patterns and often lose a lot of the apple material in the process of peeling and coring. The best, most versatile way to peel an apple is to peel by hand using traditional kitchen equipment. With a little practice, this method can be just as quick and easy as using the machine while leaving you with more apple and less mess.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Apple
• Apple corer
• Sharp paring knife
• Y-shaped or swivel peeler

1. Place the apple onto a flat cutting surface, stem side up.

2. Take the apple corer and position it over the top of the apple, so that the stem is centered inside the corer. Press the apple corer down, gently at first and then harder through the rest of the apple. You may need to wiggle the corer to push it all the way down.

3. Pull the corer out of the apple and remove the apple core from it.

4. Put your thumb or a dominant finger through the top hole left by the removed core. Hold the top of the apple with the same hand.

5. Scrape the peel away from the bottom half of the apple using a sharp paring knife, or a Y-shaped or swivel peeler. If using a paring knife, coax the peel away from the apple with a light hand. If using a handheld peeler, make a heavier scraping motion. Always peel away from the hand holding the apple.

6. Turn the apple over and peel the bottom in the same manner.

7. Put your thumb through the hole in the bottom of the apple and hold the bottom like you did the top. Peel the top of the apple until there is no peel left.

Tips & Warnings

• A skilled person can peel the apple with a paring knife in one long curl. This takes some practice.

• If you do not have an apple corer, you can scoop the core out with a metal melon ball scoop.

• For small apples, remove the core with a pear corer to preserve as much apple material as possible.

• For applesauce, simply cut the apple into quarters and remove the stem. Cook the apple in water until soft, and then pull the seeds and skin away from the pulp.

• Be careful peeling apples. Corers and peelers are sharp and can easily cut hands.

Resources

• Hand Peeling Video
• Machine Peeling Video