I love walking amongst the fruit and vegetable section of
the supermarket. The brilliant display
showing off their cavalcade of magnificent colour just speaks to me. It’s heaven.
The day before yesterday I was in such a supermarket and
spent time indulging in a visual feast, ambling amongst the green, red, white
and black fruit and vegetables. I picked up a red, very juicy looking apple.
It looked like it would be sweet. It
certainly looked shiny and even shinier when I rubbed it against my
shoulder. What a beauty.
I, however, did not buy it.
The reason being that I just knew it would not be this shiny straight off
my apple tree. Freshly picked apples can
be rubbed into a sheen: but not an
actual shine. I could practically see my
face reflected off this apple. Shininess
only comes from the confectioners’ glaze that is sprayed onto the apple to
restore its shininess after it has been thoroughly washed.
That, I suppose, sounds quite tasty… confections’ glaze
sounds yum. Confectioners’ glaze though
is known by another name. That name is
shellac.
Shellac is used to protect furniture and give it a
shine. It was used in the production of
gramophone records back in the time of the old 78 rpm vinyls. It is made using
the bodily fluids of the Lac beetle and its chemical structure is similar to
synthetic polymers ie plastic.
So, to be clear, each time you take a bite from that shiny
apple, you are also taking a nice big bite of natural plastic and the bodily
secretions of the Lac beetle. If you like that and would like some more you can
also find it on jellybeans, oranges, chocolate coated peanuts/liquorice/almonds
or most foodstuff with a shiny surface. :)
If you don't like that not eating jellybeans, chocolate coated peanuts/liquorice/almonds or any shiny confectionery is probably a good idea - they are not really food; but apples and oranges are very nutritious. To get shellac off them you might like to do this:
Fill a sink with cold water; then mix in 1 cup of white vinegar.
Soak the fruit in the cold water/vinegar mix for 1/2 hour, pat dry and store. Or eat.
Until next time, here’s to your very good health.
Fill a sink with cold water; then mix in 1 cup of white vinegar.
Soak the fruit in the cold water/vinegar mix for 1/2 hour, pat dry and store. Or eat.
Until next time, here’s to your very good health.
Linda.
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