How to Remove Wax From Cucumbers

Cucumber salad that appears to have a waxed skin still on it.

You might wonder why growers would wax cucumbers in the first place, particularly since the thick skin is naturally grown as a protectant against bug infestation and disease. The answer is a simple economic one. Shiny-skinned cucumbers look prettier than their non-waxed counterparts and yield a higher price per cuke (or pound) at market. So what is best for the grower is not, in this case, what is best for the consumer. Peeling the skin from the cuke will take care of the problem. However, if you're a gourmand and infatuated with presentation, or health conscious, you might want to keep the skin on for presentation or nutrition purposes. Cucumber skin is high in fiber, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins A and C.

Things You'll Need

• Boiling water
• Tongs
• Cold running tap water
• Hard-bristle brush
• Ice water

Instructions

1. Blanch the cucumber in boiling water. Blanching is a short process in boiling water, 10 second or so. This is only a start. Because the wax usually applied to cucumbers and other fruits is typically palm oil-based (carnauba wax), boiling water at 100 degrees Fahrenheit won't melt the wax, which has a melting temperature of about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. But it will soften the wax considerably.

2. Remove the cucumber using tongs and transfer the blanched cucumber to running cold water in your sink. Use a stiff-bristled brush while holding the cucumber on its way to the cool down and vigorously brush as much of the cucumber as possible until you reach the running water and are able to hold the cucumber in your hands and continue brushing until you feel no more wax is coming off the skin.

3. Repeat Step 2 and you should have removed most, if not all, of the wax. If not, blanch and repeat a third time, although this is not advised because heat, like freezing, will break down the molecular structure of the cucumber outer layers and cause it to lose its crunch.

4. Reconstitute the crispness of the cucumber by immersing it an ice-water bath. What the heat may have taken away from the very outside of the cucumber is restored by an ice bath. Give the cucumber a good rest in ice water for 10 minutes and you should have a wax-free, crunchy cucumber.

Tips & Warnings

• If all of the wax hasn't been removed, consider one of two things. Buy un-waxed cucumbers or just eat the very small amount of wax that remains. Producers estimate using 1 gallon of carnauba to wax every 12,000 pieces of fruit -- from melons to grapes. And keep in mind that the wax doesn't dissolve in your body. It's not digestible and harmlessly passes through your body.

References

• Gapersblock: Cool as a Cubumber
• Smallstepstohealth: Wax on, Wax off
• allrecipes.com: Blanching and Shocking Vegetables