You're thinking of Passe Cranne (or even Conference pears probably, or at least winter pears) - this is one of those pears which won't ripen on the tree, but is harvested and kept in optimum conditions while it continues to ripen. The sealing wax on the stem is to prevent the fruit from drying out before it's fully ripe, because its highly possible they will dry out before ripening. If you've got winter pears of some variety which need ripening in this way, its probably worth getting some sealing wax and dipping the stalks, provided you've got somewhere you can store them properly while they ripen. This practice is still carried out in France today for winter pears.
Not sure about apples treated in this way, maybe its the same story with certain varieties, but these days, apples are almost all sold with a wax coating which has been sprayed, dipped or brushed on before sale.

very interesting thinking back it could of been just the pears

Thank you

Gg

Did you ever eat one? I'm assuming they weren't ordinary Conference pears, and am wondering what they tasted like. Passe cranne apparently are only available for about 3 weeks and they disappear as fast as they're put on sale, so I bet they're something special.

Just cant remember if I did ? but they did look very nice , they also had a grease proof paper wrapping around each one and he was moaning about how we in the UK market them compared to the French , you are right about the not being on the shelves for long as they used to sell really quickly and that was that for the year now I understand why , I was just the shift and carrier but I was glad of the £££ and 5 mins from my house .

Thanks for replying Bamboo , the things you remember and just picking fruit off my tree triggered the memory

Gg

Should we get the wax off before eating Bamboo, and if so what's the best way?

Its only on the stalk , not the fruit.

Gg

I think some growers do wax the fruit as well though - I know they wax citrus anyway. Maybe apples are different.

the skin would rot quickly on pears I would imagine as they need to breath

Gg

If you mean modern apples from our supermarkets, Steragram, I always assume the wax coating is probably fine to eat, but could be something dodgy (depends what they've used). Or could have attracted pollutants cos they're a bit sticky, and I'll confess, I put any apples I buy that I intend to eat whole into a bowl of warm water with washing up liquid and give them a bit of a scrub, rinse and dry. I figure I'm soaking up enough pollution without putting extraneous chemicals into my system, thanks, lol!

I know that's what I should be doing too, but somehow seldom get around to washing any fruit. But here I am, getting old and trying to put off doddery, and not taken harm yet. Must try and mend my ways.