According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, there are approximately 200 varieties of apples grown in the U.S. Before slicing any number of them up as a snack, you may want to wash your apples to remove any residual dirt, residue, and the waxy protective coating added by distributors to preserve freshness, says Food & Wine.

McGill notes that apples have their own natural wax coating, but once picked, that protective coating is washed off by producers during the cleaning process. Therefore, a food-grade wax is added back to apples to increase their shelf-life. While perfectly safe to consume, USApple claims commercial wax has been used on apples since 1924 and has proven effective in maintaining apple quality.

The coating may be keeping your fruit fresh, but that shiny layer may also be preventing you from achieving perfectly coated caramel apples. In order to create an even coating, Cuisine At Home advises home cooks to soak apples for a few minutes in hot water with a dash of vinegar before proceeding with any caramel apple recipe. After scrubbing the apples with a towel to remove any wax, dry, add sticks, and start twirling those apples in a tilted caramel-filled saucepan. Now that you know the trick behind getting that luscious caramel to stick, what type of apples should you use?

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Originally Appeared Here