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Old 30-03-2006, 09:54 PM posted to rec.gardens,sci.med.nutrition
Doug Kanter
 
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Default How to get rid of the wax on apples?

"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Doug Kanter" wrote in
:


wrote in message
ups.com...
The best example is with red delicious apples purchased at
your local grocery store.
The apples have whitish areas/stains on the outside skin,
and on red apples the white stains are especially visible.
It is difficult to remove the stains even when trying to
rub them off under running water. When soaked in water for
10 mins the whitish areas become even
more visible. I assume they are wax, and the type of wax
used on apples supposed to be
water soluble and easily removable and these stains one is
NOT. I do not want to eat apples with pesticides and other
dirt under the wax.

These stains are on apples no matter where you buy them.
Is there any way to remove the wax quickly and reliably?
Does it make sense to peel each apple?


It's easy to remove. Get yourself a fingernail brush that
you'll use just for fruits & vegetables. Put a drop or two
of dish soap on the brush and scrub, then rinse
(obviously). It won't hurt the apple, but it will remove
the wax. Besides seeing that it's gone, you'll notice that
the skin suddenly has an apple smell.


this works, although i use a washrag & not a brush.
one should remember that apples also have a natural waxy
coating on the skin, in addion to that which is applied for
storage. my guess is that the whitish area on the skin is the
natural wax bloom under the artificially applied wax. the
bloom would get larger if the apple was soaking.

I agree with you about the pesticides, but the wax is a
good thing. Without it, it's unlikely any domestically
grown apples would last more than a month or three. Red
Delicious have a thicker skin, and might go well without
wax, but they're only good for cattle feed, so who cares?


geez Doug, it's bad enough you hate dogs. now you want to
subject poor innocent cows to the abomination that is a
Delicious apple? you evil, twisted man!
the only use for a Delicious apple is starting a compost
pile...


Delicious apples are also good ballast for florists' fruit baskets - they
keep the baskets stable so they don't tip over and damage the worthwhile
fruit, if any. :-)