Getting wax off vegetables?

[framing fowl]

Yesterday I bought some rutabagas for the first time. They are coated in wax. Looks like someone dipped them in parafin. How do you get that stuff off?

Silly me, I tried putting them in a sink of hot water and scrubbing. Just moved it around some and made a mess. Then I had the bright idea to throw them in the freezer for a few minutes and maybe chip it off. That didn't work so good either. I guess I could just peel them before cooking?

 

[freemotion]

We peel them. I use a sharp knife against a cutting board, and dh uses a veg peeler. I don't feed these peelings to my critters. :/

 

[framing fowl]

Thanks Free. That's kind of what I thought but sometimes I have my head so far up a book I don't see obvious solutions to common tasks. Just thought I would throw it out there in case I was missing something .

 

[freemotion]

Oh, I know, I wrestled with those silly veggies until I figured out a safe way to peel them without cutting my own fingers off! We love them. We brought rutabaga and carrots mashed together to a potluck last night and they were a hit. DH put lots of butter and goat's milk in them. I couldn't believe how many people asked how to make them....very few people in the room (20-25?) even knew what a rutabaga was!

We also brought homemade soda and wine. People are fascinated by us.

 

[patandchickens]

I don't believe it is possible to fully unwax vegetables, not even lightly waxed ones, so I am with freemotion, just peel the thing

Pat

 

[ORChick]

http://www.environne.com/press_releases.php

I bought some of this some years ago, and find that it does seem to remove some of the more obvious stuff, at least by feel. Obviously I have no way to test if it is actually working .

 

[Denim Deb]

Anyone else thinking of the Karate Kid? Wax on, Wax off.

 

[framing fowl]

Well, it's also pretty silly for me to spend 20 minutes trying to get wax off of a 50 cent vegetable... Sometimes I get so caught up in saving money that it is easy to forget what my time is worth. Definitely worth a lot more than losing the amount of the peeling!

 

[bklunde]

I removed most of the wax from a rutabaga by microwaving it for two minutes in a bowl. Then, I boiled it for about 3 minutes. I could see that I removed more of the wax by boiling. I did not want to peel it, because I wanted to bake it in the oven with a chicken and potato.

A few weeks ago, I baked one, with the wax on, for about 2 hours at 325 F. I had left home while it was baking. When I got home, the house was full of blue haze and a burnt odor. The wax had melted off and was in the bottom of the pan, but it had caused the haze and the odor.

After I removed the wax this week, by microwaving and boiling, there was no burnt odor after baking the rutabaga. It tasted good, too.

bklunde

 

[Wifezilla]

That's one way to handle it. I just peel, but if I ever need to keep one whole, it is nice to know a dewaxing method.