Why should we wash fruits and vegetables?

Eating dirty vegetables or fruits can be rather counterproductive. Fruits and vegetables are loaded on the surface with chemicals or microbes that make them harmful, so it is very important to wash them properly before eating. Otherwise, rather than get the benefits that come with a fruit and vegetable diet, you instead get punished.

If you’ve been consuming unwashed fruits or putting dirty vegetables in your food – or worse, letting your kids eat them – then you are putting a great deal on the line. It could lead to you or your kids falling ill very frequently, and oftentimes without you having any clue why.

How to Wash Fruits and Vegetables

Here are some tips you can follow to make sure that your fruits and vegetables are properly cleaned.

1.    Wash your hands first

The initial step that everyone should follow before starting to wash vegetables is to wash your own hands. If your hands are dirty then you might end up making the fruits or vegetables dirty too. Use a detergent soap to wash your hands properly.

2.      Washing firm fruits and vegetables

Start with washing the vegetables under running water and remove the grim with your hands or with a microfiber towel. Ensure that you do this step only on fruits and vegetables that are firm and have a thick outer part.

3.    Washing leafy vegetables

Give your leafy vegetables a bath. Take a bowl of water and dip the vegetables in it. After a few minutes remove the dirt with your hands. Strain the water and wash it one more time to make sure that there is no more dirt left. Repeat this process twice. Once that is done, take out the vegetables and put it into a large strainer to remove excess water and dry. Also, do not forget to remove the outer leaves of all the leafy vegetables.

4.    ​Washing mushrooms

Do not forget taking extra care of mushrooms because you cannot clean them the way you clean the other firm vegetables. The best way is to wipe them with a damp cloth because washing them directly with water makes them even more difficult to clean and might also ruin their shape and texture. Do not forget to pat dry with a kitchen towel or they will turn soggy.

5.    ​Cut the bad/rotten areas

You must have observed black spots on your vegetables. Well, you obviously don’t want to eat them. So, once you have cleaned your vegetables with water make sure to cut those unpleasing rotten areas out.

6.    Scrub

There are a lot of vegetables that have a hard skin and it is difficult to remove microbes from them. So, here’s what you can do. Scrub them. Use the vegetable brush gently on the skin so that you don’t cause any damage to it.

7.    Blanching the vegetables

It is not appropriate to boil every vegetable so here we have the method of blanching. Boil some water in a pan and turn off the flame. Now soak the vegetables into boiling water and let it sit for 5-8 minutes. Put some ice cubes into another bowl and then put your vegetables there once you remove them from the hot water. This process helps in retaining the colour of the vegetables by stopping the cooking process.

This is one of the best ways to remove most pesticides from vegetables.

8.    Don’t use soap or detergent

If you think that washing fruits and vegetables from outside with soap will do no harm then you are wrong. The soap can easily find its way through the peel and inside the flesh which will make the fruits and vegetables unfit for consumption. You can use vinegar instead.

Source: Times of India