I've heard that certain produce coated with an animal wax. Like apples and cucumbers. To make them last longer on the shelf. If this animal wax was not added, is there any naturally occuring wax?
2006-09-01 10:05:43 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Food & Drink ➔ Vegetarian & Vegan
Yes, many fruits have a natural wax, especially apples. Plums have a 'bloom' which is easily rubbed off and cherries also have a waxy coating which can be shined to make them look more attractive on the market stall! I'm sure that many others do too, but those are the ones I'm familiar with. In the UK, apples are never artificially waxed that I am aware of. I think it wouldn't help to preserve them. Instead they are shipped in cold store.
Citrus fruit are often waxed to preserve them when they are shipped to the UK and other countries that can't grow them. I don't know what kind of wax is used but I would expect it to be a mixture of vegetable waxes (carnauba wax, for example) or possibly mineral waxes, almost certainly not animal products.
2006-09-01 10:13:38 · answer #1 · answered by Owlwings 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sure, plants have naturally occurring wax-like substances.
on leaves its called the culticle, the outermost layer, which helps with keeping moisture which the plant collects energy and goes through photosynthesis.
i would imagine it would be the same with certain fruits, such as apples, which are also constantly exposed to sunlight as they are growing.
but thats not to say they arent covered in some other substance to make them look more appealing or perhaps last longer in stores. either way, i've never heard of it being a health issue,and im sure whatever they use is edible.
best to wash your produce first anyway, i suppose.
:)
2006-09-01 10:13:45 · answer #2 · answered by rodchesterkings 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
many plants produce wax, look at plants with stiff, shiny leaves, that's a protective wax to stop them drying out too fast. Also the shine on certain berries like bearberries and salal berries and so on, and especially bayberry, which was cultivated for people to collect the wax.
I dunno if apples have very much natural wax on them - although if you pluck an apple off a tree, and polish it against your shirt, a gloss comes off that is froma little bit of wax. it is my understanding they for the stores, are coated with something superglossy for cosmetic reasons.
2006-09-01 10:13:29 · answer #3 · answered by jarm 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. I went to a boarding school where we had an orhcard and we ended up with a truck-load of apples that were all wax-free. They tasted a whole heck of a lot better too.
2006-09-01 10:08:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
What you are calling a naturally occuring "wax" is actually known as a lipid, and almost every plant and animal has some lipids around.
2006-09-01 10:07:58 · answer #5 · answered by Allen G 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes apples have a natural coating. I do believe it helps in the storage of the fruit.
2006-09-01 10:25:26 · answer #6 · answered by carmen d 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They also coat veggies/fruits with paraffin, a wax that is a known carcinogen. Buy organic!
2006-09-01 11:36:28 · answer #7 · answered by el 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard that wax was insect poopie. Check out Ripleys.
2006-09-01 12:27:04 · answer #8 · answered by TROLLIN' 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont know ifs it wax but you can polish a apple by rubbing it natural ok.
2006-09-01 10:13:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes it does...it is a favourite snack in the animal world so it needs to protect itself....i eat organic apples
2006-09-01 14:23:58 · answer #10 · answered by aisha f 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋