Beulah, peel me the English language!

[shewhomust]

The tomatoes which went into last night's sauce didn't want to relinquish their peel. Sometimes after the boiling water treatment it sloughs off whole, like a glove, and sometimes you'd have to pare it off with a knife: last night was one of the latter times, and life's too short. So when durham_rambler fished something red out of the sauce and asked "What's this? Is it bacon?" (for he is ever the optimist), it didn't take me long to identify it as tomato skin.

But this morning I was thinking: tomato skin, or tomato peel? I said 'skin' automatically, and I stick to it. But I'd talk, as I just have, about peeling tomatoes, not skinning them. Likewise grapes: I'd peel a grape by removing the skin (and I'd certainly talk about the skins when I talk about wine making). What about peppers? If I put them under the grill until the skin blisters, am I peeling them, or skinning them? (I think, in fact, I'm removing their skin).

Oranges, on the other hand, have peel or rind - but I don't think they have skin. Well, between the segments, possibly, which suggests that the defining factor is thickness. Apples have peel, but neither rind nor skin; peaches and apricots have skin - is that because it's furry?

Is this a peculiarity of the language, or is it just me? And what do you call the shell of a pomegranate?

Comments

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Then of course there's the question of what Americans would call such things. But we all know that Americans fail at speaking English. ;-/

(I had to read the bacon part of this post to sunspiral, who wondered why I chuckled out loud whilst reading LJ. I so love how you write.)

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking of you as I watch how this post has been gathering comments - it's a real 'got toast!' post, isn't it?

But don't be shy, tell us what Americans would call these things! Actually, cellio is American, and her milage doesn't vary all that much from mine - but what do *you* say?

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Personally, I think that a thin covering (tomato, grape, potato) would be a skin, whereas a thicker covering (orange, banana and yes, mango) would be a peel. Rinds are reserved only for watermelons and hard cheeses. Though I can't claim consistency; I would 'peel' an apple but it would have a 'skin'.

Poms would have peels, since you asked. ;-)

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Cheese! Why did I not think of cheese?