How to properly wash store-bought vegetables and fruits: just with water or with soap

07.04.2023 11:26
Updated: 15.04.2023 03:49

Purchased vegetables and fruits need to be washed, and not so much because of dust and dirt, but because of the products and additives that the fruits are treated with to increase their shelf life.

First of all, this rule concerns fruit and vegetable products that have arrived from afar. Here's how to do it right.

Sometimes housewives are tormented by guesses: is it possible to wash off all the nastiness that got on the fruit during processing with ordinary water? So, they use soap, dishwashing liquid and other life hacks, which are also not good for health. But if you rub the fruit with a brush under running water, you will only be able to wash off an insignificant part of all the chemicals applied.

Here are some safe options.

Option one

To protect the body, you need to soak the fruit in a water solution of soda (salt) for 10 minutes. It is prepared in a ratio of 1 to 10.

Raspberry
Photo: © Belnovosti

Helps wash away up to 70% of applied pesticides and other chemicals.

Option two

You can wash the fruits in a water-vinegar solution. It is prepared in a ratio of 1:3. It is not harmful to health, suitable for processing apples, tomatoes and broccoli. However, in comparison with soda or salt solutions, vinegar does not have such a strong effect.

We wash vegetables, fruits and berries

1. So, potatoes and other root vegetables can simply be soaked in warm water and left for 15 minutes, then cleaned with a brush and washed.

2. All types of cabbage are first cleaned of the top layer of leaves, after being kept in cold water for several minutes. Cauliflower and broccoli are divided into florets.

3. Small greens (onions, dill, parsley, sorrel, etc.) are first freed from roots, then from yellow and spoiled leaves, after which they are soaked in cool water for 15 minutes. Then the greens are rinsed in running water.

4. Wash the grapes in running water. Dense bunches should be separated, but you should not tear the berries off the stalk for washing - this will spoil the grapes faster.

5. Cherries, sweet cherries and currants are washed in a colander under running water for 5 minutes. Raspberries and strawberries are also washed if they were bought at the market. Garden or wild raspberries are not washed at all.

Author: Igor Zur Internet resource editor

Content
  1. Option one
  2. Option two
  3. We wash vegetables, fruits and berries