{"id":1309,"date":"2020-01-22T17:31:52","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T17:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stealthsyndromesstudy.com\/?p=1309"},"modified":"2023-06-26T21:28:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T21:28:25","slug":"de-waxing-apples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stealthsyndromesstudy.com\/?p=1309","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices: De-Waxing Apples"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no standard for the wax coatings used to preserve apples and other fruits and vegetables. Some studies indicate that the coatings are no longer simply carnuba-based, but are undisclosed compounds containing plastic polymers that may trap residues of pesticides and other chemicals.<\/p>\n

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Given that these represent an unknown confounding factor, investigators decided to remove as much as possible. Further study is indicated.<\/p>\n

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Hyun Jin Park, … Ho Jae Bae, in Innovations in Food Packaging (Second Edition)<\/span><\/a>, 2014<\/cite><\/p>\n

“The Chinese applied wax coatings<\/span> to oranges and lemons in the 12th and 13th centuries (Hardenburg, 1967). Although they did not realize that the full function of edible coatings<\/a> was to slow down respiratory gas exchange, they found that wax-coated fruits could be stored longer than non-waxed fruits. In the 1930s, hot-melt paraffin waxes became commercially available as edible coatings for fresh fruits such as apples and pears. Erbil and Muftugil (1986)”<\/p>\n

From Processes and Applications for Edible Coating and Film Materials from Agropolymers<\/a><\/p>\n

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Even organic apples have a coating of wax<\/h3>\n

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Immerse a well-refrigerated apple in boiling water for 15 seconds<\/h3>\n

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Wipe the apple vigorously with a clean 100% cotton kitchen towel for 30 seconds. Put back in refrigerator to chill.<\/h3>\n

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After chilling the apple so the scrape test again. Some wax remains, but not much.<\/h3>\n

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The white spots are wax deposits left in the pot after pouring out the water. Removing them requires a solvent with xylene.<\/h3>\n

Afterwards, the pot was twice scrubbed with boiling water and washed.<\/h3>\n

After a dishwasher cycle, water was boiled again to confirm the absence of wax.<\/h3>\n

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More links to come<\/h3>\n