how do you really wash fruits & veg?

20carrots
20carrots Posts: 279 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I do nothing but rinse them in water then pat them with a paper towel and call it a day. Should I be doing something else?

Replies

  • pigote
    pigote Posts: 615 Member
    Me too
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    I have a vegetable brush for things like lettuce where the dirt gets down in the leaves, but otherwise, I just rinse to remove loose dirt.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I don't bother unless they have visible dirt on them.
    I think it's not worth worrying too much about unless you have someone in your family with a compromised immune system or you have a good reason to believe that they are contaminated with something.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    I do nothing but rinse them in water then pat them with a paper towel and call it a day. Should I be doing something else?

    lol same!
  • Skinny_Jeans_Soon
    Skinny_Jeans_Soon Posts: 326 Member
    I only wash things that come under the ground, like potatoes and carrots. We grow our own garden and are all organic so we don't have to worry with having to wash off any chemicals.
  • jennagale
    jennagale Posts: 6
    I have a spray bottle with white vinegar in it that I use on store-bought produce. Spray, rub, and rinse. There are a lot of pesticides and chemicals on it. (Not to mention people with dirty hands touching it) For our home grown, I just rinse with water. For root veggies, I use a baby hairbrush to gently scrub dirt off.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    I have a spray bottle with white vinegar in it that I use on store-bought produce. Spray, rub, and rinse. There are a lot of pesticides and chemicals on it. (Not to mention people with dirty hands touching it) For our home grown, I just rinse with water. For root veggies, I use a baby hairbrush to gently scrub dirt off.

    ooo white vinegar can be used to clean them? i know there are pesticides and chemicals but i have yet to get sick from eating fruits and veggies. i would like to try that though if it is that easy!!
  • heidi5k
    heidi5k Posts: 181 Member
    I fill a large bowl with water and pour about 1/2 c of vinegar in, and let the babies soak. After a while, I pour out the dirty water and rinse. This is GREAT for berries - it keeps them from molding so quickly.
  • moxleymama6
    moxleymama6 Posts: 532 Member
    My mil, who is totally healthy, swears by a white vinegar rinse. She also scrapes the waxy coating off apples & such before she washes them (with the edge of a knife).
  • wbgolden
    wbgolden Posts: 2,066 Member
    I seriously had to go at some beets today with a friggin pressure washer. Ok I'm overstating a tiny bit but those f'ers were dirty!
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
    I fill a large bowl with water and pour about 1/2 c of vinegar in, and let the babies soak. After a while, I pour out the dirty water and rinse. This is GREAT for berries - it keeps them from molding so quickly.

    This! :-)
  • darrcn5
    darrcn5 Posts: 495 Member
    Yeah I just kind of run them under water and that's that. I am fairly apathetic about chemicals and germs though. I have used the vinegar rinse on berries to keep them from molding, and it seemed like they lasted longer than normal.
  • tbetts23
    tbetts23 Posts: 303 Member
    Rinse and eat. Mind you as a kid we just wiped the carrots etc. on the grass to get "most" of the dirt off!
  • smlamb33
    smlamb33 Posts: 342 Member
    I seriously had to go at some beets today with a friggin pressure washer. Ok I'm overstating a tiny bit but those f'ers were dirty!


    Ha ha ha! Nice! Beets are definitely hard to wash! I always wash my fruits and vegetables with Dawn and then rinse really well. I really try to get all of the pesticides and dirty handprints off of the food before I eat it. Vinegar is a great idea though! i may have to try that!
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,514 Member
    I am totally OCD about my fruit and veggies. Trust me, you don't want to know about my ritual baptisms.:laugh:
  • yourenotmine
    yourenotmine Posts: 645 Member
    If I'm eating the skin or cutting through a skin into a fruit I wash with soap and water, then rinse really well. LIttle things like berries and mushrooms I rinse, as well as the green leafies. I know they say you shouldn't wash mushrooms, but I have a thing with dirty food.
  • ChrisK7265
    ChrisK7265 Posts: 21
    I fill a large bowl with water and pour about 1/2 c of vinegar in, and let the babies soak. After a while, I pour out the dirty water and rinse. This is GREAT for berries - it keeps them from molding so quickly.

    Absolutely!!! Berries last twice as long. I just started washing my produce this way and can't believe the difference (and how dirty the water is when I dump it)
  • cpiton
    cpiton Posts: 380 Member
    I fill a large bowl with water and pour about 1/2 c of vinegar in, and let the babies soak. After a while, I pour out the dirty water and rinse. This is GREAT for berries - it keeps them from molding so quickly.

    Thanks for the tip! I'm eating a pile of strawberries and raspberries as we speak. Lol I rinse with water, but I'm going to try your way next time.

    I scrub my mushrooms with a very soft brush and water, then gently pat dry. They don't last as long that way, so I do it right before I use them.
  • 20carrots
    20carrots Posts: 279 Member
    Definitely going to try the vinegar thing, thanks everyone!
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
    I should try vinegar. I get total heebie jeebies thinking about who could have blown their nose and pawed around in the apples before I picked mine. Yuck! Right now all I use is water to rinse my fruits/veggies.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    I scrub anything with a rind with soap and water, everything else with water.

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