Tasting Table Asks: Which Food Is Your Least Favorite To Peel? - Exclusive Survey

Any home cook knows that before the fun of cooking can commence, some grunt work is required. Peeling, chopping, and dicing are often tedious and time-consuming steps. However, they're necessary parts of the cooking process, especially for cooking with vegetables.

Using a vegetable peeler eases the process of, well, peeling vegetables — but it has uses beyond merely clearing off the skin. The Guardian poses the long-debated question of when peeling vegetables is truly necessary. The argument for keeping the skins on your food points to supposed health benefits and a lack of food waste. Rather than peeling, simply scrubbing your food may suffice. But those who swear by peeling point to pesticides and dirt that may cling to the food. Peeling off the skin guarantees that your vegetables come as clean as possible.

Even if you fall firmly in favor of the peeling process, you'll likely find some foods easier and more enjoyable to peel than others. Tasting Table surveyed 601 people about their least favorite foods to peel. One vegetable topped the list, eliciting the most disgruntled reactions (and likely a few tears). 

Onions are known for making people cry — and it seems peeling them is an equally unpleasant experience. More than 28% of voters, or 173 people, cited onions as the worst food to peel. Unfortunately for them, onions surface in all kinds of recipes, so peeling them properly is a must for frequent cooks. To expedite this unfavorable process, The Kitchn recommends slitting an onion on its side to ease skin removal. For those most prone to tears, onion goggles may also be a worthwhile investment.

Behind onions, shrimp fared similarly poorly. The shellfish received 165 votes, or 27.45% of responses. Potatoes, then ginger, followed suit. The former received 102 votes against its peeling process, which equates to 16.97% of the disfavor. Meanwhile, ginger received 96 votes; 15.97% of people dislike peeling the pungent spice. (To make the process easier, use a spoon for peeling ginger — it's a funky technique that works surprisingly well.)

Behind ginger, carrots received 38 votes, or 6.32% of the disfavor. While peeling carrots wasn't too low on the list, carrots are one of those foods where peeling may not actually — or always — be necessary. Often, simply scrubbing your carrots is enough to make them ready-to-eat.

Finally, citrus fruit rounded off the survey, eliciting 4.49% of the vote. Of the people surveyed, 27 voters abhor peeling citrus. While peeling the citrus has certainly amassed some haters, the process, at least, is preferable to peeling an onion.