Buy LOCAL Summer Vegetables and Fruit & How to Wash
Buying LOCAL or growing your own vegetables and fruits in the summer is amazing! Many people suggest buying organic produce, but what is even better than organic produce is LOCAL fresh and full of nutrients produce. Vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients are increased when the vegetables are picked closer to ripeness and are fresh! So as the title suggest – I encourage you to buy LOCAL summer vegetables and fruit, and this article reviews How to Wash vegetables and fruits. We want to wash to get pesticides and foodborne illnesses as in bacteria off.
Organic fruit and vegetables also use organic pesticides rather than synthetic pesticides used for conventional produce. So if you have organic or especially conventional fruit and vegetables – you want to learn how to wash them.
The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen list outlines which produce in the shopping markets have the highest pesticides for conventional plants. It is suggested that one buys organic for these choices. I suggest this as well, except when there is LOCAL fresh produce to buy in the summer! Buy LOCAL, wash as below, dry, and freeze to preserve to retain the nutrients over canning (denatures and reduces nutrients). Have a great summer!
SOFT FRUIT WASH
For strawberries and peaches (any soft fruit) that would fall apart if you scrub the outside – use running water and gently rub. Add a step of washing with lemon juice (1/2 lemon in 2 cups of water) in water and let it stand for about 1 min. Then rinse.
RINSING WITH WATER & THE RUB METHOD
You don’t need to wash items that are labeled “pre-washed” or “ready to eat.” Other vegetables and fruits rinse with running water and use your fingers to rub away dirt or other residues. Then dry your produce with a clean towel or paper towels.
VINEGAR OR BAKING SODA (NOT TOGETHER!!! or BOOM!)
You can add one of these – vinegar or baking soap to help rinse off 20 of the common pesticides. But please, do not use them together!!!! Or you will get a BOOM reaction as shown in the GIF below. A fun chemistry experiment.
VINEGAR WASH FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Use 1 cup of vinegar for a sink full of water and leave for 20 seconds to 1 minute then rinse under cold water.
BAKING SODA WASH FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Soak hard skinned fruit or vegetables in water with 1% baking soda. Mix 2 tsp of baking soda into 1 quart or 1 liter of water then soak produce for 20 seconds to 1 minute, then rinse under cold water.
The USA and Canada have stricter laws on pesticides than Mexico. So I buy local berries and freeze them, or buy local frozen berries when I ran out, for smoothies.
Hope this was helpful! Happy Summer! Please leave me a comment below or email me if you have any questions.
References:
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php
Downshiftology – Meal Prep for Summer
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/2075-can-baking-soda-remove-pesticides-from-produce
