How to Wash Vegetables and Fruits to Make Sure They Are Ready to Eat
Those first fruits (or veggies) from your garden are about ready to be picked. What do you do next? Clean them of course (we are a cleaning company, after all!). Whether you are loading up your kitchen counter with the bounty from your own backyard or the local farmer’s market, here’s how to clean fruits and vegetables to make sure they are ready to eat.
Prepare Your Produce
In addition to removing fruits and vegetables from any packaging, remove any stickers you may find and cut away any damaged or bruised areas of the produce. According to WikiHow, bruises and cuts can allow pathogens to enter the fruit or vegetable.
Clean Your Workspace
Clean your countertop, cutting board and utensils with hot, soapy water. This is especially important if you have peeled your produce without washing it, for bacteria from the outside can be transferred to the inside when it is cut or peeled.
Rinse with Cool Water
Be sure to use cool water instead of warm and consider placing a colander in the sink so you can wash more than one thing at once–this is really useful if you are cleaning “loose” fruits and vegetables such as grapes or peas. If you have produce that is easily crushed (think raspberries), put them directly in the colander and gently spray with water.
Get Ready to Scrub
For produce with thick skin, use a vegetable brush to scrub the peel. In addition to brushing away soil, this process also helps wash away hard-to-remove microbes.
Inspect and Dry
Do one last inspection–looking for specs of dirt or tiny bugs that might still remain. If all is clear, dry everything you have rinsed with a paper towel to remove any lingering bacteria.
For vegetables like broccoli or lettuce, we recommend doing all of the above steps twice.
Talk to us: What is your favorite fruit or vegetable to eat during the summer?