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brooklyn1

On Wed, 16 Sep 2015 08:58:46 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>On Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 6:34:55 AM UTC-7, Ophelia wrote:
>> "Gary" > wrote in message ...
>> > Janet wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Many citrus fruits are covered in a thin wax coating to keep them
>> >> fresh longer. A quick scrub takes it off.
>> >
>> > The times that I *really* notice wax on fruit or vegetables has been
>> > on cucumbers. Just handling them and my fingers are waxy. I ALWAYS
>> > wash them off in hot water.
>>
>> ewwww I have never noticed that.
>
>Wax is applied mostly to keep the cukes' moisture in. But here,
>so-called English cucumbers are shrink-wrapped in plastic
>to serve the same purpose.
>
>Maybe you get your cucumbers closer to when they were harvested.

Apples, peppers, squash, and many other fruits and vegetables are
waxed too, to extend shelf life. The wax used on produce is a natural
vegetable wax (carnauba, etc.), and typically water soluable. You
ingest a lot more wax than you probably know. The only reason I don't
care for waxed cukes is they won't pickle evenly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba_wax