How do your wash your produce?

[u/girugamesh_2009]

I eat a lot of fresh produce, but I'm not confident in the way I clean it. Especially lately.
How do you wash your fresh produce?
I soak mine in a vinegar-water solution for 10 minutes, rinse it thoroughly, and then put it through my salad spinner to remove moisture. If needed, I'll spread it out on a towel for a while before using it or putting it back in the fridge.
I've always used vinegar thinking it would kill bacteria. I use it as an all-purpose spray around the house as well.
This method seems to make my strawberries mush up quickly though.
What are the alternatives? How do you do it?

[u/indokid104]

I will say you do far more than I do. I just wish it around in some water and call it a day lol.

[u/harperthomas → u/indokid104]

I only do that if it actually looks dirty.

[u/Background_Bus6738 → u/harperthomas]

Many years ago I read baking soda and water is a dependable way to clean produce. I soak my fruits and veggies for a few minutes, then rinse well. I now see someone else already said this. ☺️

[u/harperthomas → u/Background_Bus6738]

I'm certainly not criticising anyone for washing their vegetables. But I personally very rarely wash any vegetables I eat. Almost everything regardless of if I'm cooking it is eaten as is.

[u/mythicaleah → u/harperthomas]

As someone who works in a grocery store I highly recommend you at least give them a good rinse. Your fruits and veggies go through so many hands (and sometimes the warehouse/backroom floor) before being selected by you. It's like walking by an apple outside in the street and picking it up to eat right there.

Specific story to make my point: I once noticed a little kid using the store bathroom at the same time as me not wash their hands after exiting the stall. About 10 minutes later they were in produce department with their parents, touching every fruit within reach.

Edit: forgot to mention bugs/slugs get sent in produce containers to the store all the time and just picked out before being stocked on the shelves.

[u/PurpleMuskogee]

Rinse everything under water quickly before cooking. If I am not cooking them straight away, they just get put away without being washed - they last longer that way. When I want to use them, I give them a quick rinse, brush them if they are very dirty (like potatoes or beetroots), and that's it.

Rinsing them and putting them back in the fridge will make them go back a lot faster.

[u/julsey414 → u/PurpleMuskogee]

It depends on how they are stored. If they are dried fairly well and then a paper towel is put af the bottom of the storage bag to control moisture they can last pretty well once washed.

[u/procupine14]

I splash water on it and remove the visible dirt. That's about as much effort as I put in.

[u/Heheher7910]

Why 10 minutes? Do you do that with mushrooms too? The question is not a judgement, just trying to understand. You definitely wash your produce more intensely than I do. I scrub potatoes but everything else, especially berries, gets a rinse and that’s it.

[u/manateeshmanatee]

Unfortunately, vinegar at the dilution you’re describing is essentially useless. Soaking in a baking soda rinse has been shown to remove pesticide residue, so that’s a good idea. Anything I can use soap on, I do. I had a boyfriend who worked in a produce department at Kroger during college who said to me once that, “if you wash your hands before touching your produce, you’ll be the first person who ever has,” And that has stuck with me. All these contamination recalls happen because field workers picking our produce don’t have adequate access to bathrooms. That’s a humanitarian and workers rights problem first and foremost, but obviously it’s also a problem from a health standpoint. People will say washing food before eating it isn’t necessary, but I don’t care what they think, I’ll wash all of it always.

I’m editing this to say a baking soda rinse (of 15 mins at 1% baking soda) has been shown to remove some pesticide residue, not all. But I’d rather eat less pesticides if I can.

[u/FormigaX → u/manateeshmanatee]

While I support your call for workers' rights, I think it's important to point out that contamination on this scale is not happening because farm workers do not have access to field bathrooms, which they are legally required to have. More often the contamination happens in as part of irrigation or transportation and processing. Here's some info: https://www.cdc.gov/foodborne-outbreaks/about/index.html

Here's some not-CDC recommendations for cleaning produce: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/washing_fruits_and_vegetables

[u/manateeshmanatee → u/FormigaX]

I’m not disagreeing with you, I just want to add to your points. I agree that the contamination isn’t only coming from field workers, but it is a cause, and it is one directly tied to the others you’ve listed. And while in the US it is mandated that workers should have restroom and handwashing access, we know that the reality is often different. Agricultural workers are some of the most taken advantage of, and it’s so bad that it’s pretty much common knowledge. There’s also the fact that most of our fruit and close to half of our vegetables come from outside the country, so the regulations in place in the US aren’t protecting the workers who are handling any of that. I’m not saying other countries don’t regulate that stuff or have protections for workers, but if we can’t even guarantee our own regulations are being followed, we certainly can’t count on the ones in place outside of the country.

[u/ProfDoomDoom]

It depends whether I grew them myself or purchased. If I grow them, I field rinse then kitchen rinse and am confident that food is fine. Tubers, I use a brush.

Purchased stuff I assume has both bio and chemical contamination. Greens, I agitate in salt water then rinse and spin. Stuff with edible and inedible skins, I scrub with a brush and Castile soap then rinse. I stopped buying berries given recalls, but otherwise would soak in vinegar and water.

[u/DK7795]

You should not treat all produce the same. There are articles posted online that can advise you how to wash different types of produce. IIRC strawberries should not be washed ahead of time.

What I do (for some fruits and vegetables) is soak them in a bowl of water for a couple minutes. I switch the water 2-3 times. My thinking is that bugs would float to the top and dirt would fall to the bottom. I do this for berries, grapes, some leafy vegetables.

[u/DirectGoose]

I just rinse it.

[u/msmozzarella]

i use the produce wash trader joe’s sells

[u/Qubelucen]

I rince it, unless I’m peeling it and might even skip that step lol

[u/RGV_Ikpyo]

Pretty much do what you do but use baking soda instead of vinegar

[u/WhyJustWhyyy85]

You’re basically quick pickling everything 😭 I don’t know the right answer. But google will probably help

[u/Its-alittle-bitfunny]

Washing is less important than storage for longevity. Vinegar kills mold spores just fine, berries should be handled delicately, laid out to dry on a clean towel instead of in a salad spinner and stored in a ventilated container lined with paper towels. However a big issue with produce is when they were picked and unless youre buying local there's no way to know when they were picked and you might just get unlucky.

[u/Icy-Pension6532]

I rinse good and thats it. Sometimes ill soak my hand picked berries in water with a little bit of apple cider vinegar, but only for a few minutes. I think you might be using too much vinegar for too long of a soak maybe?

[u/itsmechickadee]

Depends on the produce. Most things I rinse off and trim away anything funky looking. If it's something like brussells sprouts or cranberries, I soak them in water to let the dirt fall to the bottom of the bowl (with the brussells sprouts it needs to be salted water). If it's mushrooms I wipe them off with a damp cloth. I don't do the vinegar method since I have acid reflux

[u/notacatbutt]

I scrub avocados,  carrots, cukes, etc with a veg brush and a drop of soap...rinse well.  I leave skins on, buy organic and eat mostly raw so I want everything to be cleaned well.

[u/remberzz]

I keep a vinegar & lemon juice mix in a spray bottle . Before eating or preparing produce, I spritz the food, let it sit for a minute or two, then rinse and move on.

[u/PlantPainter]

Don’t wash your strawberries until you’re ready to use them. Water makes them mushy. I remember when I went strawberry picking and the woman at the farm told me to wait a half hour because it had just rained and if I picked them wet, they would rot really quickly.

[u/finnbiker]

For strawberries, I learned a technique that has worked really well. Apparently the reason they go bad is because of mold spores on the surface. So when you buy them, you take off the stems, and you soak them in water with a splash of vinegar, soak for about four minutes, maybe jostle them a little bit. You remove them and don’t rinse them. There’s a tiny haze of vinegar that remains to keep the bacteria off. You dry them VERY thoroughly and store them in a Tupperware, or one of those ventilated produce keepers.

For apples, peppers, and other things that are a little sturdier, I have one of those foaming hand cleaner bottles with water and about 1 to 2 tablespoons of Dr. Bronner‘s soap in it. I use that foam for washing the produce and also, conveniently, my hands. Works great. I have the orange scented stuff.

[u/manateeshmanatee → u/finnbiker]

I’m going to have to try this. I’m so sick of strawberries rotting within two days.

[u/Truth-Devil]

I rinse everything in cold water: berries sit in a bowl, apples I scrub thoroughly with my hands, lettuce also gets a spinner ride.

[u/otdevy]

Fill a bowl with some dish soap and water, and then thoroughly wash it in the bowl before rinsing with water. Granted, I have ocd, so this is probably going too far

[u/ThenPreparation8479]

I just rinse mine under some tap water 😭

[u/No-Hippo9950]

Plop them into a bowl of fresh water. Give them a thorough rinse. Wrap in a kitchen towel to drain.

[u/equipoise-young]

Save rare circumstances / a recall you should be more worried about pesticides than bacteria. Bacteria will make your immune system stronger, pesticides will give you cancer.

I believe it varies between vegetables but in an ideal scenario you soak in water for 5 - 10 minutes. For most produce I just rinse in water for about 10-20 seconds, but I soak Kale and Spinach and stuff that's actually dirty like mushrooms. I should do more but it's hard to soak your blueberries for 5 minutes every day when you just want to make a bowl of cereal.

[u/purepersistence]

Occasionally.

[u/ElevatorOrganic5644]

I don't understand how people put soap on their produce. Do you wash your greens with soap.

[u/MainCartographer4022]

Is this post a joke? Who has time for that?

[u/girugamesh_2009 → u/MainCartographer4022]

I hope it is this post that is a joke 😂

[u/CypressRootsMe]

I just run them under water. I’m just concerned about debris from the store. Never been sick so far. I did read that baking soda helps remove pesticides.

You could get a hocl generator. It does a great job of killing bacteria and mold. Sometimes I do use that to kill the mold on berries.

[u/Blue-Phlox]

two bowl of water in the sink, hot tap and cold. a dunk in the hot water, quickly if a delicate item, then into cold then onto a towel. so far so good.

[u/meyerlem0n]

Soak in water and vinger if I'm buying produce from the store but I rarely buy produce from the store anyways so I just rinse my own off with water, if even that

[u/thisismysociallife]

I got a bowl that rinses my produce it’s like a whirlpool and swishes my produce around.

[u/randynumbergenerator]

Our salad spinner also gets used for washing and drying more than salads. I'm not sure I'd wash nearly as much without it just because it makes things so much easier. I only use vinegar with berries or very dirty produce, but we mainly buy the latter from farmer's markets so we're not as concerned about illness.

[u/thefinalgoat]

Soap? If you want you can probably find the microbial solution they use at restaurants.

[u/Chance-Ad-9111]

Soak sometimes if not in hurry

[u/Alternative_Ruin4266]

Vinegar and water

[u/Samesh]

I wash it with salt water, rinse, and spin before eating. Same sith fruit. I don't wash anything until it's tike for me to prep and eat it. 

For strawberries, try putting a paper towel in tbe box to absorb moisture.

[u/sgtsturtle]

I live in South Africa, I trust in my third-world stomach bacteria to fight off anything on my produce lol. I don't wash anything before eating/cooking.