Wash Fruits with baking soda: Baking Soda is a great cleansing agent, which can also be used in the disinfection of fruits.Did you know that Baking Soda is an eco-friendly & non- toxic alternative to typical cleaners. Using baking soda is an effective way to clean food preparation devices and utensils, In this batch of fruits, we will go over three different ways to clean fruits using baking soda.
How To Wash Vegetables With Baking Soda And Vinegar
Getting minimalist in the kitchen — how to wash your vegetables with baking soda and vinegar.
I’ve been quite adamant about washing my produce after suffering from a serious case of food illness the previous year.
While there are commercial sprays and cleaners available, I choose to use “minimalist” essentials like vinegar and baking soda that I already have at home. (Incidentally, I use these two things to clean my home.)
Before eating, most fruits and vegetables must be washed. I used to believe that a thorough rinse under hot running water was adequate, but I have since discovered that this does not actually get rid of germs and bacteria.
Introducing our friends baking soda and vinegar!
How to clean produce with vinegar:
For fruits and vegetables with smooth skin: 3 cups of water and white distilled vinegar should be added to a spray bottle. When combining the components, tightly fasten the cover and shake vigorously. Spray the fruit or vegetable thoroughly so that it is completely covered (about 6 sprays). Make sure your fruit or veggie is completely covered by rubbing. Fruit and vegetables should then be rinsed with cold running water to remove the vinegar after about a minute (and vinegar taste). Before slicing or eating, pat it dry.
For leafy greens, combine 3 cups water with white distilled vinegar in a big dish.
Mixing the liquids together requires the use of a big spoon. Your leafy veggies’ leaves should be separated, so dip them into the vinegar solution. Take the leaves out of the bowl and give them a cold water rinse. Before serving, shake off any extra liquid and allow to air dry or pat dry.
Regarding crinkly vegetables (like broccoli):
Three cups of water and white distilled vinegar should be added to a big bowl.
Mixing the liquids together requires the use of a big spoon.
Put the veggie in a big dish and cover with water. Give it at least two minutes to soak. Shake off excess after rinsing with cool water. Prior to cooking or serving, allow to air dry or pay dry.
How to clean produce with baking soda:
For hardy fruits and vegetables—not soft-skinned ones: Give your fruit or veggie a hefty sprinkle of baking soda and scrape. Rinse well with cold running water to remove all signs of the baking soda.
Leafy greens should be liberally sprinkled with baking soda and allowed to soak for about two minutes before being lightly scrubbed and thoroughly rinsed.
Best Ways to Wash Fruits and Vegetables
Although thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables has always been crucial, COVID-19 has brought all of us much more awareness of infections than ever before.
So, how should fruits and vegetables be washed to remove pesticides, waxes, animals, and germs? Do you have to wash every piece of produce you bring into the kitchen, or may you skip some of them?
To help minimize bacteria that can lead to food-borne illnesses, the CDC advises washing all vegetables with water, even if the crop has peels. At the very least, rinsing is preferable to doing nothing at all, but the ideal strategy will vary depending on the particular produce you’re using for your morning smoothie.
Here are some guidelines for washing fruits and vegetables after they arrive in your kitchen.
Is washing produce important?
Cooking produce is the greatest approach to avoid any food-borne illnesses. But if you’re planning to eat it fresh (mm, summer salads), then giving them a scrub with plain water is your best bet. This includes foods with peels where germs can sneak into the inner parts when you cut into them.
Rinse your produce: The bare minimum
Rinsing your produce under the tap is step one for all fresh fruits and veggies. That also includes organic produce because it can still have pesticides, bacteria, and other germs lingering on the surface. Here are some tips for a produce shower:
- Warm water will be somewhat more effective than cold, but be careful when washing delicate things like fresh raspberries because too much heat will cause them to fall apart. This can also happen if the water from the tap is flowing on high.
- Don’t use soap, bleach, or other chemical cleaners. Stick with the CDC’s choice of plain water to keep yourself safe.
- And always remember to wash your hands before rinsing produce. You want to clean the produce, not add germs and bacteria from your hands. Plus, it’s just solid practice to wash your hands whenever you get back from being outside. Pro tips, friends.
- Use a clean colander to rinse greens, snap peas, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and other small items that might be difficult to hold by hand. Move them around with your fingertips to ensure all the dirt, germs, and bacteria are getting rinsed away.
- Dry everything with a clean towel or paper towel before putting it away in the fridge or on the counter in a fruit bowl; otherwise, the moisture could cause mold to grow quickly.
Soak your produce: Ideal for delicates
Soaking produce is another method of cleaning your fruits and veg, especially the more delicate kinds that won’t play well with running water. Here’s how to soak with style:
- More delicate produce that comes in bunches (like grapes and berries) can be soaked in cool or lukewarm water for anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes to help the water loosen any dirt, bugs, and other unseen villains.
- You can add a bit of white vinegar — about a 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar per 1 cup of water — since it’s a natural bacteria killer. You’ll want to rinse your produce in clean water after soaking, especially if you use vinegar since it can leave a faint smell. You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar. But generally this isn’t required.
- If you’re soaking produce in your sink, you should wash the sink itself first. After your produce soaks, make sure to dry everything completely before storing it, to keep it fresh longer.
Scrub your produce: Heavy duty
For produce that can take a bit more of the rough stuff, scrubbing can get more dirt and bacteria off efficiently.
- Produce with thick skin, like squash, melons, carrots, and other root vegetables should be scrubbed with a stiff brush under running water to ensure they’re clean, even if you plan to peel it. The brush itself should also be cleaned after each use so it’s not trapping and spreading bacteria.
- Some produce has a wax coating you can choose to eat, like apples, cucumbers, and lemons. If you want to eat the skin, you can use some baking soda as a natural scrub to help remove the waxy layer.
- You can also very briefly dunk these items in boiling water or pour the hot water over the produce. Then, give them a scrub to loosen the warmed-up, softened wax and any invisible pesticides and bacteria.
How to Wash Vegetables & Fruits and Remove Pesticides
Do you know the ideal procedure for cleaning produce? Learn how to wash produce to get rid of pesticides and other dangerous elements.
Most likely, when you hear the term “clean eating,” you picture a diet that emphasizes consuming entire foods. However, have you ever considered how healthy those foods are?
They aren’t really clean, it turns out! The produce aisle may include anything from dirt to pesticides and even bacteria. Fortunately, there are actions you can take to guarantee they won’t make you ill or show up on your plate.
Why it is important to wash your produce
It can seem like simple sense to wash your fruits and vegetables. In fact, you probably already do it without even realizing it. Thoughts like “What’s the harm in eating this apple without washing it?” can be present. I’ll explain.
“Nearly 48 million Americans are affected by food contaminated with dangerous microorganisms each year,” according to the FDA. Fresh produce can become infected in a variety of ways, from the growing process through the delivery to the grocery shop. Included in this are germs and foodborne pathogens including E. coli, salmonella, and listeria, which can have major negative effects on health.
Recall the 2018 romaine lettuce recall? Animal feces flowing into the farm’s irrigation system caused over 210 illnesses and 5 fatalities. Yuck.
The majority of the bacteria are found in the produce’s soil attachment. So cleaning your produce not only helps to remove dirt but also helps to prevent illness.
The dirty truth about pesticides
If you don’t wash your fruits and vegetables, you can also be consuming pesticides. You can’t see pesticide residue on food, unlike dirt, so some people might consume it without realizing it.
Although there are many different herbicides utilized, glyphosate is the one that is most frequently used globally. Glyphosate, a product of Monsanto (which Bayer acquired in 2019), is the main component of Roundup, a herbicide used to eradicate weeds on plants and crops.
How hazardous is this herbicide exactly? Glyphosate was identified by the World Health Organization as a potential carcinogen in 2015. According to studies, people who are exposed to glyphosate have a 41% higher risk of developing cancer! Additionally, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an immune system cancer, is substantially more likely to develop when glyphosate is used, according to study conducted by the University of Washington.
The likelihood that other pesticides were used on the produce you purchased is extremely high, even if glyphosate wasn’t. Additionally, it might be detrimental to your health to be exposed to these toxins. Numerous studies have connected pesticide exposure to diseases like diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and ALS as well as cancer, asthma, and even cancer.
Children and expectant mothers are the most susceptible groups when it comes to pesticides. Fortunately, there are methods you may use to lessen your family’s and your own exposure to herbicides, including glyphosate!
What about organic?
Purchasing organic food is one of the best methods to lessen your exposure to pesticides. GMOs and artificial pesticides or herbicides are not allowed in the production of organic foods, according to definition. (Your Super goods are non-GMO confirmed, USDA Certified Organic, and glyphosate-Free.
Don’t worry if choosing organic is not an option for you. For this reason, we consult the Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen lists. The Environmental Working Group compiles the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists each year by examining the Pesticide Data report issued by the U.S. government.
The twelve fruits and vegetables that contain the highest pesticide residue are known as the “Dirty Dozen.” Buy these organically if you can.
The Dirty Dozen
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Peaches
- Pears
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Celery
- Tomatoes
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Potatoes
Unlike the Dirty Dozen, the Clean Fifteen are the fruits and veggies with the least amount of pesticide residue.
The Clean 15
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapples
- Sweet peas
- Onions
- Papayas
- Eggplants
- Asparagus
- Kiwis
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Cantaloupe
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Honeydew
The best way to wash produce
So what’s the best way to wash your vegetables and fruit?
Simply running produce under water for 30 seconds is fairly effective when it comes to removing pesticides and dirt. An even better and cost-effective way is soaking fruits and vegetables for 20 minutes in a saltwater solution. However, research has found the best way is with baking soda.
In a 2017 study published in the “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry,” researchers compared the effectiveness of water, a baking soda solution and a Clorox bleach solution on an apple. The result? Soaking apples for 12-15 minutes in the baking soda solution was most effective at removing pesticides both on the surface and beneath the skin.
How to wash vegetables and fruit
If you’re able to give your fruits and veggies a bath for 15 minutes, go for it! But if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, don’t worry! Using the baking soda method can still be effective — or just rinse thoroughly rinse under tap water for 30 seconds.
Before washing your produce, wash your hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds. This ensures you aren’t passing any germs or bacteria onto the produce.
Leafy Greens:
- Add the greens, water and 1 teaspoon of baking soda to a large bowl.
- Soak for 1 minute.
- Drain in a strainer, then rise.
- Gently pat dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
Veggies and (most) fruits:
- Add the veggies, water and 1 teaspoon of baking soda to a large bowl.
- Soak for 1 minute.
- Scrub with a veggie brush.
- Rinse.
Mushrooms:
- Scrub with a veggie brush.
- Rinse quickly under cool water.
- Dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
Berries:
- Before eating, rinse under cool water in a mesh strainer.
- Gently pat dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
Tips for washing and disinfecting fruits and vegetables
Consuming fruits and vegetables is nutritious and essential for maintaining excellent health.
As a result, this kind of food has numerous qualities that are advantageous to our bodies, strengthen our defenses, and shield us from various ailments.
However, both of these items are prone to contamination before being brought home, not only because they are exposed to our environment directly, but also because they are sprayed with extremely polluting pesticides during the planting and production processes.
Since fruits and vegetables are typically eaten fresh, there is a higher risk to one’s health.
In order to significantly lower the risk of various contaminants, which may be present due to dirt, the storage process, transportation, and, as mentioned above, the use of chemicals and pesticides with which they are grown, it is crucial to learn how to wash and disinfect this type of food very thoroughly.
Do you want to learn how to wash vegetables and fruits properly?
First and foremost, remember that washing your fruits and veggies is best done before splitting or peeling them.
Washing the entire fruit or vegetable helps to keep viruses from spreading from the peel to the interior of the food.
You can do this whether or not you plan to consume the fruit’s peel.
Before handling any kind of fruit or vegetable, you should properly wash your hands.
Additionally crucial to the non-contamination of this kind of food is personal cleanliness.
To save water, you should give the fruits and vegetables you choose to wash at least two minutes under the faucet or in a container with water.
You can assist yourself by using a clean, soap-free brush or sponge if they are extremely unclean.
Some fruits and vegetables should have their outer leaves removed because they could be infected.
There are various homemade methods for disinfecting fruits and vegetables that you can take into consideration because they make use of antibacterial agents that can combat the germs present in these foods and lessen the likelihood that they will contaminate other foods.
To avoid food contamination while being handled in the kitchen, it is crucial to thoroughly clean the cooking tools that will be used after completing these processes.
How to disinfect vegetables and fruits?
When you have washed your fruits and vegetables, and preferably before cutting them, the ideal is to disinfect them completely, with some very effective homemade tips.
Baking soda
This product is very inexpensive, easy to find and, usually, we include it in the family basket, either for culinary purposes or for any health problems. Another of its virtues is that it can effectively clean and disinfect, that is why we could use it correctly to clean fruits and vegetables.
How to do it?
Dilute a tablespoon of baking soda in a liter of water, soak the vegetables and/or fruits for 10 minutes and that’s it.
Vinegar
This is another of the most powerful natural disinfectants that we could find, as it eliminates any kind of bacteria as it is antimicrobial.
Like baking soda, it is a very cheap product that can be found in the family basket. Best of all, it is good for your health and has no toxic components.
How to do it?
Dilute a glass of vinegar in a liter of water, then soak the fruits for 10 minutes or choose to spray the mixture with a spray bottle before using the food in preparations.
Lemon
Lemon is a food known for its disinfectant and antibacterial properties, which are mainly due to its citric acid.
This food, combined with a little vinegar, makes a natural disinfectant, ideal for eliminating any pathogens from your fruits and vegetables.