Descascados

Descascados is a Portuguese term that functions as the past participle of the verb descascar and is used as an adjective or noun to refer to foods or ingredients that have had their skins removed. In culinary contexts, descascados describes fruits and vegetables that are peeled prior to use, as well as products produced without skins.

Common applications include peeled potatoes (batatas descascadas), peeled apples (maçãs descascadas), peeled carrots, and peeled citrus fruits. The peeling methods vary: manual approaches such as knives or vegetable peelers are typical for home cooking, while commercial operations may use mechanical peelers, blanching to loosen skins, or, in some cases, enzymatic or other processing steps to facilitate removal.

Peeling affects texture, flavor, and nutrition. Removing the skin can yield a smoother or more uniform product and is often necessary for certain recipes, purées, fillings, jams, or desserts. However, skin removal also reduces dietary fiber and certain micronutrients found in the integument of many fruits and vegetables.

In usage, descascados is widely employed in Portugal, Brazil, and other Portuguese-speaking regions to specify that an ingredient should be used after its skin has been removed. The term helps distinguish peeled ingredients from their whole, unpeeled counterparts.