What's the best way to wash fruits and vegetables?!
What's the best way to wash fruits and vegetables?
I'm aware there's lots of pesticides and other stuff on the fruits and veggies, but what's the best way to wash them? I usually just rinse it under water but it doesn't seem clean to me. I think at the stores they have some sort of cleaner for the fruits and veggies but I'm not interested in buying that.
Answers:
I have used Fit for years, and if you check the soak water on things that are soaked (not fragile fruits) I always find lots of stuff in it. I am sure to wash everything, even bananas because you hold them in your hands, and melons becuase you have to cut into them with a knife, which will drag whatever is on the outside right through. If you only want to use water, use plenty of it and use a cloth on the outside of the thicker skinned items to dislodge the gunk. Use a vegetable brush for potatoes, carrots, even melons. The spinach with the ecoli would not have been helped by more washing since the bacteria had been taken up from the soil and was inside the plants. So you can never be completely safe, but we should always try to be as safe as we can. Don't forget that most apples and some other fruits and vegetables are coated with a light wax coating to keep them from drying out so fast, but this actually hold the pesticides and bacteria in if you only rinse them off.
I know groups that do portable kitchens for large group meals and they final rinse all their dishes and soak most fruits and vegetables in a mild bleach water solution. I don't know what the ratio is. Government agencies do not seem to recommend this.
Here are a few good resources:
http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/datastore...
http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/hecomm...
under a tap
with cold water(clean)
Under running water with a cloth or sponge, where applicable.
Soak in clean cold water for about 10 mins (I've heard that this helps the skin to open and let out any bad juju) and then rinse in cold water after.
Buy Organic fruits and veggies and you only have to worry about bugs instead of poison.
Run under cold water and wipe dry with a clean, dry cloth
They do sell product to spray on to fruits and veggies (one product that I know of is called FIT). But I always just use the fresh, running water method. For things like apples, after I rinse them I dry them with a towel (don't just let them air-dry).
For things with a lot more surface area, like greens or broccoli (etc), I soak the veggie in a sink full of cold water, with a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar added. The vinegar will help dissolve any residual chemicals, and it has the added benefit of adding crispness to greens that are slightly wilted. Of course, THESE have to be air-dried...I use a spinner to remove most of the water.
I try to buy organic for fruits and veggies that can hold on to a lot of pesticide. Like celery and apples.
But since I'm not independently wealthy, I buy from the regular selection for the rest of my fruits and veggies. These I wash with my regular dish soap.
I printed out the wallet guide from the foodnews website and look at it when I need a reminder.
Water with a bit of washing up detergent, which will cut through the oil added to spays to make them stick.