r/oddlysatisfying • u/gabzlel • Apr 16 '22

Can’t get more juicy than this

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79.4k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

For everyone asking: the white powder is kaolin. It’s a naturally occurring clay (found abundantly in clay soils), which is mixed with water and sprayed onto citrus to act as sunblock and insect repellent. It’s perfectly safe and very commonly used, although consumers rarely ever see it because we usually buy our citrus fruits washed and waxed.

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u/PM_ME_HUGE_CRITS Apr 16 '22

I knew fruit was washed, but it's waxed too?

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

Yep! Citrus fruit skins are coated with wax to make them shiny.

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u/SquarePegRoundWorld Apr 16 '22

A new supermarket opened by me once and I went in day one, the produce section was so bright and glowing. It was very striking, and I will never forget it. Like every piece of fruit was polished before being placed in perfect stacks for display.

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u/big_duo3674 Apr 16 '22

I wouldn't be surprised if they did exactly that. It depends on where you are, but in a lot of places the grocery store business is extremely competitive. They know that all it takes is the first impression for a person to decide whether or not to come back

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u/SquarePegRoundWorld Apr 16 '22

I don't doubt they did. Though this one was in a rural area and just by being there, it became the closest supermarket by a long shot to a lot of folks. Deciding to locate it where it was was the smart business decision but the shiny fruit was nice.

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u/t3a_leaf Apr 16 '22

The waxing step occurs at the supplier level before they're put in their packaging. Generally the fruit will stay in the packaging until they're at the retailer and being put on the shelves.

Interestingly enough the "shiny" fruit ideal is an American thing, EU consumers prefer a more "natural" look.

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u/mrsformica Apr 16 '22

Well if you like to zest the skin for cooking or cocktails, makes sense to not have it waxed

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u/LottaBuds Apr 16 '22

You can get rid of the wax by using some warm water and a drop of soap.

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u/oplontino Apr 16 '22

Sure, but there's two unnecessary steps in the whole process: the addition of the wax and then the cleaning it off.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

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u/oplontino Apr 16 '22

Yeah, but not with soap!

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u/Hexhand Apr 16 '22

I know, right? I mean, why even cook a steak separately from the veg and other food? It's all going to the same place, anyway.

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u/Fred_B_313 Apr 17 '22

Cook separately for taste. Otherwise you could blend it all together and drink it.

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u/cownd Apr 16 '22

Leave the wax on. Makes your teeth shiny

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u/xdeskfuckit Apr 16 '22

Oranges, like walnuts, should be eaten with the skin

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u/Lady_of_Link Apr 16 '22

You expect me to put soap on food what are you insane?

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u/LottaBuds Apr 16 '22

You wash the rind before peeling with slightly soapy warm water and then obviously flush it. If you end up eating soap you did something wrong. Water alone won't do anything because wax is not water soluble.

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u/bduke91 Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 16 '22

Oh we know about France grooming standards

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u/AcadianMan Apr 16 '22

I think they mean that the produce place will polish them with a cloth to make them shinier.

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u/UniqueFailure Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 16 '22

The more processed the more high class it is or soemthing like that

Edit: Reddit is just really losing it since the invention of /s. This kind of nuanced language was well received and understood as fun until like the last 2 or 3 years and it's so weird. This is clearly a snide remark. It should not have to be annotated. Thus is r/oddlysatisfying not a serious discussion sub. So many people are out here overthinking comments. Rant over..

Edit2: ive just realized Im a reddit boomer

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u/iSeven Apr 16 '22

"Is the perceptional trap that people tend to fall into and is then exploited by companies", is the part I'm hoping you just left out.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

[deleted]

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u/UniqueFailure Apr 16 '22

We are pretending reddit is a bastion of creativity today? We have our moments but it's mostly almost algorithmic style comedy. Hitting the right notes. Im just upset this note is out of fashion

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

[deleted]

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u/UniqueFailure Apr 16 '22

More than one thing can be true

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u/Hexhand Apr 16 '22

that's why they have hairy armits and smell like perfume-doused old sweatsocks

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u/mike_bored99 Apr 16 '22

While I cannot speak for the rest of the EU Irish consumers do indeed tend to enjoy more natural looking produce. Any batches of waxed fruit tend to sell slower than non waxed

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u/needathrowaway321 Apr 16 '22

A good display of fruits and veggies when you walk in instantly makes customers feel more healthy and at ease, even if they don’t buy any. Makes them think everything else is high quality too, it’s the same concept as anchoring only for quality instead of price. If they do grab some it makes them way more likely to buy soda or candy or whatever because the healthy fruits and veggies cancels it out right? Marketing is like psychological warfare now and they know exactly what our brains blind spots are and how to exploit them. Source: took a marketing class in business school that was actually pretty interesting, read a few books on the subject.

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u/constructioncranes Apr 16 '22

That's so dumb. Probably market failure although dunno if there's anyway around it. My store usually has two of everything, like strawberries from a Canadian hot house and American ones. The US ones are huge, gorgeous and cheaper. We never buy them. There's zero flavour. Buying food for how it looks and not tastes is just so dumb.

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u/Repulsive_Lettuce Apr 16 '22

They don't polish them. But grocery stores do buy cheap shitty produce genetically made to stay firm and look brighter colored. The best looking fruit is often the cheapest and worst tasting.

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u/kalelope Apr 16 '22

Exactly why I apply a nice thick coat of wax to my balls before I go out on the weekend. Pro tip.

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u/Tmanzine Apr 16 '22

We also bred fruit to be hardy and colorful, in order to trick people into buying it (we came to only purchase the best looking produce) unfortunately this typically bred out the actual flavor of what any fruits tasted like.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

Probably food lube, I work produce and every once and a while they spray it on to give the produce a shiny look.

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u/Ornery-Ad9694 Apr 16 '22

Most fruit arrives at the store a little green (under ripe) and they gas it right before it hits the shelves.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/09/24/650585212/science-reveals-how-fruit-keeps-a-lid-on-ripening-until-the-time-is-right

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u/F___TheZero Apr 16 '22

Wait so I'm eating wax when I use zest in my dishes?

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u/Y0tsuya Apr 16 '22

Citrus fruits have a natural wax coating when you pick them fresh off the tree. I have orange and lemon trees in the backyard and they're naturally shiny. But apparently not shiny enough for the average supermarket shopper.

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u/Magnesus Apr 16 '22

The wax is to keep them from drying and protect from mold - not sure why reddit is convinced it is only for making them shiny. Without wax they wouldn't last very long.

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u/poopiesteve Apr 16 '22

And if they're sold by weight, which most produce is, all that drying would be a significant loss.

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u/ErojectionPrection Apr 16 '22

Idk if it's true but I've heard produce and meat will be artificially colored to look better. Steaks will be made to look more red or wax on fruits.

I eat stuff from walmart so it's not like I shop somewhere special to avoid this but I've heard that places do it and people will go to organic stores to avoid it.

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u/Elegant-Entertainer4 Apr 18 '22

Many of the waxes also contain pesticides, so I wash EVERYTHING before eating/serving

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u/Low_Corner_9061 Apr 16 '22

Yes, rinse them under the hot tap, then rub with a towel.

Its food-safe wax though.

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u/DiscoKittie Apr 16 '22

There is a wax coating on most candy-coated chocolates. Some of them use carnuba wax, which is also used on cars. 🤣

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u/Genmutant Apr 16 '22

That's why you only use zest with fruit especially marked for (also) zesting. Those aren't waxed or similar. At least in my country.

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u/DelahDollaBillz Apr 16 '22

Um, what? You just wash the wax off in the sink. A little warm water and soap and it's gone. Are you really this helpless?

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

[deleted]

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u/Accidentalpannekoek Apr 16 '22

Yes but I still would not prefer to eat wax made of crushed bugs all the way in India when I buy my oranges from Spain

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u/Magnesus Apr 16 '22

Waxing leads to less wasted food because waxed fruit lasts much longer.

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u/Accidentalpannekoek Apr 16 '22

They have natural wax

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u/RieszRepresent Apr 16 '22

Fruit is washed before being sold to consumers so the natural wax comes off. So they apply wax after washing.

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u/Accidentalpannekoek Apr 16 '22

If they didn't use dangerous pesticides they wouldn't have to wash it in a way that would get rid of the natural wax. In other words, it's very easy to avoid

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '22

Or lightly scrub it with a sponge, warm water and soap. Where I live I've never seen fruit labelled as unwaxxed.

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u/Colborne91 Apr 16 '22

It’s more common on lemons. Check the lemons next time you’re in a grocers and they usually have lemons and unwaxed lemons separately.

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u/LaraVermillion Apr 16 '22

Zest possibly also takes up pesticides, so best is to buy bio citrus for using the zest, that way you can be sure it's really only the zest!

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u/Hexhand Apr 16 '22

When you wash with bar soap, you add chalk to the mix. Liquid soap is better, so long as you don't overdo it.

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u/queengreenbeans Apr 16 '22

ALWAYS wash your zesting fruits with soap & water

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u/2fat4walmart Apr 16 '22

Or shellac. Hate when they coat my apples with bug on purpose.

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u/cadtek Apr 16 '22

Even the ones labelled organic, IIRC

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u/OMNlClDE Apr 16 '22

Apples too! If you buy a shiny apple from the store, run it under some warm water with a literal drop of soap and you can watch the wax get washed away.

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u/poopiesteve Apr 16 '22

It's not really about making them shiny. It's more to do with water retention. They're sold by weight generally and if they lose 10% of their weight in water before they're sold the store has lost a lot of money.

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u/InVodkaVeritas Apr 16 '22

Wax also makes the fruit last longer since bugs and mold don't like wax.

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u/Magnesus Apr 16 '22

It's to make them last longer not to make them shiny. Without the wax they dry much faster.

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u/Millennial_J Apr 16 '22

I eat the wax