Peel This! (or maybe not...)

[StudentChefEclipse]

For years we've heard that peeling carrots, potatoes, etc. removes a lot of nutrients. So we should just learn to love eating the peels as well. What's the truth?

[Harold McGee]

Vegetable and fruit peels do often contain higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals, but because the peel usually accounts for a small fraction of the food’s weight, it still accounts for a small fraction of the overall nutritional value. And refined preparations will be less so if they include shards or bits of (usually) tough tissue. Still, if you want to maximize the nutritional value of a fruit or vegetable or grain (or nut, many of which have antioxidant-rich seed coats), then you find ways to include the whole thing. Or serve the skin separately, as in marmalades.