Cleaning Fruits & Veggies

[Natasha]

Hi,
I know there was a discussion on the old board about that new "FIT" product to clean produce, but my question is more general.

How do you usually clean fruits and vegetables before eating them or cooking them? This would depend to some extent on the item, but what do you generally do? And are there specific fruits/veggies you're more careful with? Any specific vegetable brush that you'd recommend? Etc., etc. - you get the gist. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

I'm becoming increasingly concerned about pesticides etc., and am very careful about rinsing and scrubbing produce. I've read and heard that organic products are often better in this regard, but would rather not buy everything organic if I can at all help it (Plus this doesn't necessarily solve things, since the term "organic" is thrown around so loosely, though I hear that the USDA is working on this...).

Thanks in advance!

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 07-17-2000).]

[CATHIEA]

NATASHA-
I don't use FIT or any product to clean fruits and veggies. I will probably die at a very young age. I generally wash in water to remove visible dirt from green leafy vegs and fruit. I use an old Fuller-Brush vegetable scrubber on root vegies and winter squash (if I am boiling with skins on). I wipe mushrooms and summer squash with a wet paper towel. I'm with you on "organic" - until there is an Industry standard, I'm not too sure I'm doing anything different by purchasing organic products. All you can do, or at least all I think I can do, is make sure I don't use pesticides in my own veggie garden.
CathieA, who is anxious to see if imbedded smilies work.

[CATHIEA]

oooh look. I'm finally a member! You'd think with all the yakking I do, it would have happened a lot sooner!
CathieA

[CathyPA]

I too just wash my fruits and vegatables. I have a brush from Williams-Sonoma that is for that purpose. I think it came in a set of assorted brushes, i.e. non-stick cleaning brush, brush with metal, etc. Anyway, I really like the brush.

[Natasha]

Thanks guys! I don t use FIT either (I don t even know what exactly it IS - another chemical? I admit that I didn t read that thread on the old board - just saw that it was there ... my ignorance is showing yet again http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif )

Like you, I rinse and use a little elbow grease.

CathieA - congratulations! [Toasting with glass of green beer.] http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 07-17-2000).]

[Deanna]

I highly recommend the small OXO Vegetable Brush. It fits in the palm of your hand, takes up less room for storing, and is made of good sturdy bristles that don't "scar" the vegetable but scrub away all traces of dirt. You really must check out OXO's website at: http://www.oxo.com/home.html

[This message has been edited by Deanna (edited 07-17-2000).]

[SandyDee]

Okay guys, I am afraid to ask. What is wrong with Fit. I never heard of it before and saw it at the store this weekend and bought it. Used it for the first time last night. Am I gonna die or sprout another eye or something? Cathiea Congrats on the member status. If I had green beer I would toast you too but I just poured my Fit into it http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[SandyDee]

Okay guys, I'm afraid to ask. What's wrong with Fit? I never heard of it before and I just saw it at the store this weekend and I bought some. Used it for the first time last night. Am I gonna die or sprout a third eye or something?? Cathiea, congrats on your member status. I would toast you also but I don't have any green beer. I poured my Fit into it. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[SandyDee]

Blankety Blank computer. Stupid post didn't show up the first time so I tried it again. Oh no it must be happening. It must be that third eye!!!!

[Natasha]

Hi,
I didn t mean to give the impression that there was anything wrong with Fit - I just don t know what it contains so I haven t bought or used it. Sorry about the fate of your green beer http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif (Sorry - I couldn t find a smilie with three eyes.)

I think I might buy meself an OXO vegetable brush and maybe a fancy set of W-S brushes too. I like the plain and simple one that I have (it works) but am interested in the ones you all recommended.


[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 07-17-2000).]

[Ohioan]

For cleaning really tough veggies, like potatoes and turnips and other root vegetables, I usually use a plastic Dobie pad. It lets me scrub harder and with more control than a brush does.

[laden]

I just use water and scrub, but on a few things like apples (some have a really weird wax on them) I wash them with dishwashing liquid and water.

[Marcie]

I posted this before on the "Fit" thread awhile ago, but here's a summary: Fit is basically just citric acid, which breaks down the wax and dirt on produce. Nothing in it that you couldn't drink. My naturopathic-doctor/vegetarian/organic/earth-mother friend says that Fit is great because you're really not getting produce clean with just water. She also then says that you can use dish soap for firm-skinned produce and wash just like you would your dishes. The gist is that just water won't break down the wax coating, so you need something that does. I think she uses dish soap more often than Fit just because it's cheaper. As for me, I still tend to use just water because I'm lazy.

[TamiK]

The naturopathic doctor we went to several years ago told me to use 1/2 teaspoon chlorine bleach to 2 gallons of water to clean fruits and veggies. For leafy greens, you soak them approximately 2 minutes, then soak and swish in clear water. For firmer fruits and vegetables, soak them a little longer. I was skeptical, but tried it. I couldn't believe how much longer the cleaned veggies lasted without going bad. My lettuces kept almost 3 weeks as good as new--no wilt or brown spots.

It sounds strange, but it certainly works.

[lorilei]

I actually bought a spray bottle of FIT a few weeks back, and I have to say: it works.

The citric acid is what breaks down the wax, as well as the oils they add (fight fire with fire, as they say). Nothing contained in FIT is even close to being chemical, so you don't have to worry about residue either.

You can feel that the veggies are cleaner -- so clean, in fact, that they almost "squeak".

PS
I worry most about strawberries, as the chemical treatment they receive is above and beyond most other fruits/veggies -- I'm also wary of lettuce and other vegetables in which dirt and chemicals can "hide". I hate cleaning lettuce because it takes me FOREVER!

[This message has been edited by lorilei (edited 07-18-2000).]

[MaryB]

I also only rinse things with water and use a vegetable brush (or sometimes just my hands) on tough veggies like carrots and potatos.

I do buy organic whenever possible. I go to a grocery store called Whole Foods Markets where all the produce is labeled as to whether it's organic and were it was grown. In the summer and fall I try to get a lot of my produce from local farmer's markets and again I try to buy organic. My reasoning is that I really don't want pesticides or other chemicals used on my food. I realize that there isn't an official "standard" yet, but there should be one soon. In the mean time, I'd like to minmize my family's exposure to pesticides (as anyone walking by my house can tell by the abundance of weeds in my lawn http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif).

[This message has been edited by MaryB (edited 07-18-2000).]

[Anne]

Hi folks. I also scrub the veges and fruits with hard rinds even if they are organically grown. This can be challenging with watermelons and pumpkins but I think that if there is contamination on the outside, cutting through it with a knife can potentially move the bad stuff to the edible part. I scrub citrus fruits too - many are treated with fungicide and that stuff is really nasty.

[Pat]

Our local consumer reporter does a segment each week on "Does it Work?". A few weeks ago she had a lab test lettece for bacteria before using Fit and after using Fit. There was only a small difference in the amount of bacteria in the petrie dish before and after. I think I will continue to use the dishwashing soap and my Oxo vegetable brush and save my money.

[Beth Y]

Hey, guys, interesting topic. I had been avoiding FIT too, as I didn't know what it was. Was intereted to hear that about strawberries. At our local farmers market, the sellers are always handing strawberries to my 2 year old, which she eagerly takes and munches, and I doubt they are washed. I wash the ones at home, but not much. I will be more careful in the future.

On the issue of organic, remember that organic growers may not use fertilizers, etc, but they do use alternatives that may not be so good for you to ingest for other reasons (i.e. manure), so be careful to wash them well too! I also shop at a WholeFoods grocery and it is nice to have a good idea of what you are getting (Convetional, Organic or Transitional, also as to country of origin, I wash harder if they are from South America, based on some things I have heard about lack of regulation).

[CATHIEA]

Thanks for the green beer toasts why can't I get the smilies to stay in place? ( http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/redface.gif) Do I look confused?
CathieA

On issue of soaking in bleach. That's what I think the bagged salads smell like to me. I always wash those greens, then spin in my salad spinner and rebag with a papertowel to wick moisture and the lettuce lasts almost as long as my garden lettuce.

Now I edited and I see I do look confused. Don't worry, it's my natural look.


[This message has been edited by CATHIEA (edited 07-26-2000).]

[Ohioan]

I think I'm about to overlap with the Secret Vices thread here, but although I wash my fruits and veggies under running water, I refuse to soak them because I don't want to soak away all the water-soluble vitamins. When I was in the Air Force and stationed in the Philippines, they told us to soak all our produce for a half hour in chlorinated water (i.e., the bleach soak everyone's been talking about here), because of the human waste and other impurities that were often in the soil and water where the produce was grown. Well, I did it for a week or two, and then I thought: what's the use of eating these vegetables now? They have no B vitamins left in them after this chlorine soak. I'll take my chances. I never had any ill effects. But I was young then, and (how shall I put this?) I patronized the Officers Club nightly, so there may have been enough alcohol in my system to sterilize all the contaminants I consumed. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif