Don't Forget to Wash the Inedible Skin of These Fruits

This makes zero sense until it does.

Washing fruits and vegetables is second nature for most of us before eating them or cooking them. Granted, I'm sure we've all, at some point, even taken a bite of an apple or popped some grapes in our mouth without rinsing them off first.

Honestly, though, why would anyone ever think to wash a fruit that needs peeling before eating it? I'm talking about that inedible skin like the orange peel or skin of a pineapple. The inedible skin on so many of our favorite fruits, which protects the edible part of the fruit we can't wait to sink our teeth into, just goes into the trash, compost, or garbage disposal after we peel it away from the fruit.

That said, have you ever rinsed an avocado, lime, or banana? I know I have never washed an orange, kiwi, or any fruit protected by that protective layer.

According to the Tasting Table website, that's not a smart move healthwise.

The grimy dirt and germs on fruits can be a cesspool for microorganisms. Did your stomach just turn thinking about that piece of fruit you ate without rinsing it? And the reason this is so important is that grossness seeps through the skin onto our fruits.

Even though grocery stores spray water on fruits, the disgustingness I mentioned above lingers, according to Tasting Table, and pesticides or microbes like salmonella or campylobacter easily make their way to the edible goodness of the fruit that we enjoy eating.

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According to Huff Post, all of this can cause foodborne illnesses even from organic varieties of fruit as well.

So, no matter what, wash all fruit, no matter how thick the inedible skin is on the fruit. This goes for vegetables, as well.