Coatings on Fruits & Vegetables

Every fall, my grandparents would ask my father to drive us all up into the Boston Mountains of Arkansas to see the leaves turn and shop for bushels of apples at the roadside stands. The bushel baskets were soon emptied as we feasted on fresh apples through the holidays.*

Now I don’t know whether you’ve ever picked apples, but an apple fresh off the tree doesn’t feel the same as an apple that you pick up from the supermarket display. That is because the supermarket apple has been polished and coated with wax to keep it fresh for a longer time.  Look carefully at the cavity where the stem is attached. The area around the stem is dull and rough. That’s because the polishing machines can’t get down in the recess.  Once the apple surface is polished, the wax coating sticks on better and gives a glossy appearance.

Children discovered long ago that polishing an apple was a way to make it more visually appealing – thus the origin of phrases like “apple polishing”, “an apple for the teacher” and so on, but this flattery became part of the process of preparing fruits & vegetables for market. This article on Waxing Avocados is a great example of the practical applications of preparing raw foods for market. (of course this stream of thought is interrupted by modern interpretations of apples in education)

Apples have been called the “forbidden fruit” in several cultures – possibly a reference to the notion that apples were the fruit of the dead because they store well for long periods of time. Originating in Central Asia, there are many varieties of apples catering to regional tastes around the world. Some are sweet, some tart, some in between.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” was first used in Wales. The organic compounds in apples reduce the risk of several cancers, decrease cholesterol and help control weight gain.

* Imagine waking up to the smell of apple pecan pancakes on a chilly morning. Serve them with butter and something sweet – jelly, syrup or honey and you’ll be ready for a winter’s day.