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Food/recipes

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Original poster

Just out of curiosity, how thoroughly do you wash your fruit and vegetables?

34 replies

LarryVeestAdamAntSpawnChorus · 01/04/2008 12:04

I'm not convinced that my standard of fruit and veg cleaning is likely to remove pesticides etc. For example I would rinse grapes and berries in a colander for about 20 seconds, swishing them about with my hand. A cucumber might get 5 seconds of gentle rubbing. Root vegetables are rubbed until they are non-muddy.

Organic stuff gets even less attention...more a symbolic ablution really.

I'm guessing that I'd need to give the non-organic stuff a thorough scubbing to remove pesticides / fertilisers etc but wouldn't that ruin it?

OP posts:
ChicaLovesHerLocalGreengrocer · 01/04/2008 12:23

I never know. I do about the same as you.

My MIL rinses salad leaves in a little vinegar after washing them, says it helps clean them.

You can buy those sprays that supposedly clean/disinfect fruit and veg, but I'm not that bothered, and it's probably a scam.

Original poster
LarryVeestAdamAntSpawnChorus · 01/04/2008 12:25

Yeah, I'm not really bothered about the germs, it's more the chemicals. And stuff like that god awful wax you get on apples (yuck!)

OP posts:
admylin · 01/04/2008 12:27

I think at least washing them is better than not at all. I was shocked this summer when my sister chopped her veg straight from the tesco package. Dh is a scientist and he has done some work on the effects of pesticides - even Parkinson's disease could be caused by some.

MotherFunk · 01/04/2008 12:31

Message withdrawn

edam · 01/04/2008 12:35

Someone at the Food Standards Agency once told me unofficially that you can't remove pesticides from apples by washing them at home anyway. Although I still do wash fruit and veg it's more in hope than in expectation.

PuppyMonkey · 01/04/2008 12:35

I heard an expert on the radio once who said you might as well not bother washing veg for all the good it does... so since then i never have. And i haven't died. Yet. That was about ten years ago.

fishie · 01/04/2008 12:37

i chuck it all in a sink full of cold water and leave it there for an hour or so. i muddle it about a bit, drain it an put away. sometimes if i leave it too long ds (nearly 3)arrives and gives it a good going over with washing up liquid.

i too expect that chemicals will have gone inside. isn't it official advice to peel carrots?

MotherFunk · 01/04/2008 12:38

Message withdrawn

bozza · 01/04/2008 12:51

I only wash visible dirt off. So yes the mud off my organic potatoes (get veg box) before I bake them, but if they look clean (sometimes have clean carrots, sometimes still muddy) I don't bother. So never really bother with fruit.

bellavita · 01/04/2008 12:59

A quick rinse under the tap and a swish round.

MrsMattie · 01/04/2008 13:00

I'm very lax - a quick rinse under the cold tap and that's about it.

GetOrfMoiLand · 01/04/2008 13:02

I don't wash things at all - just chop them up or whatever straight out of the bag.

I might give a carrot a symbolic wipe if it is dirty, as I don't peel them, though.

LOL at the thought of special sprays for cleaning vegs though. i will have to tell my mum about that one!

suedonim · 01/04/2008 13:06

I have to sterilise any fruit/veg we eat raw in Nigeria, as lots of it is grown in soil fertilised with human manure.

TrinityTheProgressingRhino · 01/04/2008 13:06

I never wash any veg and fruit

MotherFunk · 01/04/2008 13:08

Message withdrawn

ScienceTeacher · 01/04/2008 13:08

I don't usually bother. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

iheartdusty · 01/04/2008 13:18

surely if it is going to be cooked then any germs on it will be zapped as well.

raw stuff - a quick swish under the tap then wipe with a germ infested tea towel

fishie - an hour in cold water, won't that dissolve all the vitamin C?

MuffinMclay · 01/04/2008 13:19

I don't bother unless there is some very visible soil, on lettuce for example.

FluffyMummy123 · 01/04/2008 13:20

Message withdrawn

suedonim · 01/04/2008 13:23

MF, it's not the sort of advice you see in guide books, it's local knowledge. I do wonder how necessary it really is but as I've had amoebic dysentery several times I don't want to chance it. Curiously, dh and dd never seem to get tummy troubles out there. I may be building up some immunity anyway. Our last trip was for 8wks and I didn't have to go to the Dr once to discuss my bowels!

OhYouBadBadKitten · 01/04/2008 13:25

I wash mud off and leaves I have a quick glance through/rinse to check theres no slugs but other than that I don't. Can't see how rinsing under tap will wash off germs and tend to eat organic.

MotherFunk · 01/04/2008 13:50

Message withdrawn

OrmIrian · 01/04/2008 13:51

Wash off visible dirt, and rinse grapes because they can be so sticky. But then I am a kitchen slut.

Original poster
LarryVeestAdamAntSpawnChorus · 01/04/2008 15:08

I think I'm not going to bother with things like raspberries anymore.

OP posts:
suedonim · 01/04/2008 23:25

I'll try and find the info when I go back to Nigeria, MF. I suspect it'll be in one of the 'Living Abroad For Idiots' company manuals that are cluttering up my book case.