What should I wash fruits and veggies in?!
What should I wash fruits and veggies in?
I know you're supposed to eat the skins of many fruits and vegetables to get the added fiber and nutrients, BUT I'm hesitant as I feel like I'm also ingesting a lot of germs at the same time. What is something good to wash my apples, peaches, tomatos etc. with before eating? I'm wondering if vinegar would work. I know that I can't use soap as the taste would probably not ever wash off. I know to really scrub the skins of potatos before I bake them etc, but I'm wondering what to use on stuff you normally just grab and eat and/or slice up (like tomatos, cucumbers, lemons, oranges etc.)
Answers:
Water does fine at rinsing off any germs that may be present on the surface. Pesticide residue is a non-issue for any produce that was grown in the US and most any 'first world' country. In any event vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda etc. do *nothing* to eliminate any residues that would be present!
You CAN use a liquid soap like Dr. Bronners (or even ordinary dishwashing liquid) to remove the wax or shellac that a lot of produce is coated in, and in the unlikely event that any significant pesticide residue remains those soaps will cut those also. No soap taste will remain if you rinse all the soap off!
If you dig up the MSDS sheets on those special sprays you'll discover the main ingredients ARE highly diluted dishwashing liquid! They're nothing more than a high profit margin scam.