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Of course, you should wash off ANY fresh fruits and vegetables because pesticides are not unique to apples. Also, peel off a couple of layers of head lettuce and onions.
I just read that an apple a day might be the worst thing for you because they are sprayed with pestisides. would peeling the apple make it safe to eat or is the pesticide inside the apple also?
I wash my apples in a large pot of hot(ish) water with a cup of vinegar. This process includes a brisk going over with a clean cloth under running water in the rinse process.
I clean all my raw vegetables in a similar manner - but with apples I feel that the very warm water solution is necessary.
Arsenic was used in pesticides during the 1970's, and leeched into the soil. As a result, pretty much anywhere you find apples, you'll find low (trace) levels of organic and inorganic arsenic. It's not enough to make anyone sick, EVEN if they ate a whole apple pie by themselves, without washing the apples first.
It's a good idea to rinse the apples off anyway, even if it's organic, because organic apples are not immune to birds flying overhead and pooping on the trees - and the apples growing from them. Or squirrels taking a leak while they skitter to and fro so effortlessly from branch to branch.
And so on and so forth. I'd say -especially- for organics, even more than non-organics, you should rinse them. Because organics aren't washed and waxed first - and commercial grade are. Also that wax is edible.
The downside of McIntosh, is that they are the quickest to degenerate into a soft, tasteless, mealy apple. If you don't get them very quickly after harvest, they are the worst of apples, even worse the the dreaded Delicious.
Recently, here, Gala were quite good and inexpensive, with a fairly decent shelf life.
If I can get fresh-picked applies within a day of picking, I can eat a half a bushel in a week or so, no matter what the variety is. Otherwise, I usually don't subject myself to the disappointment of buying applies.
Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage is pretty good nowadays so apples are often quite edible well after picking. Where I live we have some excellent varieties that keep quite a long time. My favorite right now are Nittanys and Yorks.
I wouldn't worry too much about pesticides. The government's outlawed the harmful ones.
I've eaten a bazillion apples and have never washed one. I do wipe and shine them only because they look so cool. I'm 49 yrs old and still don't have a second head growing out of my neck because of not washing apples.
People worry too much about things that really don't warrant it. You know, don't sweat the small stuff.
I remember seeing a news story awhile back about fruits and vegetables that were more likely to be contaminated. Apples were on the list of those more likely to have pesticides on them. Found the list here.
Good point, bacteria tends to form as the urine dries. No to mention a rather unplesant odor.
Organic or not, it's probably best to wash fruits and veggies before you eat them. Even organic fruit is susceptible to perfectly natural contaminants. :-)
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I'm 49 yrs old and still don't have a second head growing out of my neck because of not washing apples.
