The Secret Reason Why Red Apples are Shiny: Natural Waxes

The secret reason why apples appear shiny: most are encased in a natural vegetable wax. Aside from giving apples a nice appetizing sheen, the wax also helps to seal in an apple’s juicy vitamin C and sweetness.

And don’t worry, the Food and Drug Administration long ago approved the use of coatings made from the natural vegetable waxes Carnauba wax (from palm trees), beeswax, and shellac from lac insects so small they often look like tiny spots on plants. The bugs secrete and are covered with a sticky substance that dries and is scraped off as resin. In addition, there are coatings such as paraffin, mineral oil, and polyethylene which use these naturally occurring petroleum (translation: oil-based) oils purified to food grade standards.

Every one of these coatings, which may also contain an anti-mold ingredient, give the fruit a glossy inviting look as they guard against bruising, damage and microbe infections during shipping to keep the fruit plump and pretty on the way from farm to kitchen table.

The most popular apple brand in New York, New England and Canada is the McIntosh apple, which was so popular that it inspired Steve Jobs to use it as the name of his company, Apple, and its brand of computers. The first McIntosh computer came about in 1984.

In the horticulture world, the story began in 1811 when apple farmer John McIntosh noticed the apples from one particular seedling in his orchid in Ontario, Canada, produced the plumpest and most succulent apples. By the 1830s, it was the family’s main brand and its popularity spread this type of apple across Canada and the northeastern United States in part because it was well suited to cooler environments. Today it is most popular brand. And it also inspired a variety of well known spinoffs including the Empire, a cross with Red Delicious, and the Cortland, a cross with Ben Davis.

They generally mature in the fall.

But you won’t have the wait until then for a nice succulent apple. The Golden Delicious brand matures in the spring as do a half dozen other popular brands including Fuji, Granny Smith, Gala, Braeburn, Cripps Pink (Pink Lady), and last but by no means least, the Jonagold.

As they mature, each of these apples develops a natural waxy coating that reduces moisture loss, thus keeping them plump and juicy. The problem is that at harvest time, when the apples are washed to flush away dirt and debris, the waxy stuff goes. As a result, the once-plump fruit loses water and water-soluble nutrients such as vitamin C. Were this allowed to continue, the inevitable result would be an unattractive and uninviting shriveled apple. So let’s give thanks for a little natural wax.

Of course, apples aren’t the only brand of produce that gets the beauty treatment.

Oranges, lemons, limes and many of their citrus relatives are also waxed, as are tomatoes, tropical fruits such as mangoes, papayas, and passion fruit, the stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, and plums ), various smaller melons such as cantaloupes and honeydew, as well as green skinned avocados, cucumbers and bell peppers.

Despite the length of the list, so little wax is used in protecting these foods that the Canadian Department of Health, Food and Drugs once estimated that a singe gallon of the wax would cover five tons of the fruit, good for about about 30,000 medium sized apples.

While everyone these days worries about foods that run the risk of being carcinogens, no such risks have been detected related to the natural waxes. Due to processing, there is a possibility of an occasional allergen such as milk, soy or wheat protein. Those who prefer their fruit and veggies as naked as they day they were born can generally find unwaxed options at a farmers’ markets or groceries with specialty sections, in both cases perhaps labeled “organic.”

Producers aren’t required to label every single piece of fruit or vegetable shipped in bulk, but the carton must be labeled and kept visible for curious consumers. Suspicious types can simply run their own wax test, just sidle up to the apple of their choice and scratch it gently with a fingernail.