How to Properly Clean Vegetables and Fruits with Water and Vinegar
After we buy vegetables and fruits from grocery stores, there is a tendency to consume it immediately. Stop!! Don't give in.
Eating foods without properly cleaning one, poses great risks as most disease outbreaks come from polluted foods.
Some of these risks are mostly related to food-borne diseases. And others include risks of consuming sand, lingering pesticides, and pebbles. To ensure that fruits and veggies are fit for consumption, they should be properly washed.
There are a different number of ways to clean veggies and fruits. These ways differ in the level of effectiveness, thoroughness, and definitely procedure.
A very common method is the vinegar wash method. This cleansing method requires vinegar as its main component and there are two variants of this mix.
The variants
One that works for fruits and veggies and the other variant works for leafy greens. The things needed for the fruits and veggie mix are; distilled white vinegar, water, and lemon juice. Utensils like Spray bottles paper towels, scrub brushes, and colanders are also needed
On the other hand, we can make a leafy-green wash mix using distilled white vinegar, water, and salt. Utensils used in this cleaning process include a glass or metal bowl, measuring cutlery, colanders, and paper towels.
Having gathered the required things how then do you make your mix and go-ahead to clean vegetables and fruits?
Making the Fruit and Vegetable Mix and How to Do the Cleaning
Making the Solution: The first step is to make the solution/mix. To do this, add a cup of vinegar and a spoon of lemon juice to approximately four cups of water inside a spray bottle. Shake the mix well
Spraying the fruits and veggies:
After shaking the solution, spray sufficient amounts on the fruits or vegetables; already well placed in the colander. If done well, the solution should touch on all areas of the fruits and vegetables. Once you're done, leave the vegetables to rest for a couple of minutes (ideally, two to five minutes)
Rinsing and Drying: This is very important because it helps to get all the remnants of the solution out. You should rinse the vegetables and fruits with cold running water. And for products with thicker skins like oranges, rinse off with cold water and scrub with a vegetable scrub brush.
Once you're done rinsing, leave the fruits to dry off naturally. After this, the vegetables and fruits are safe and ready for consumption.
The ingredients used for cleaning leafy greens differ slightly from the used for other vegetables and fruits. With salt and lemon juice being the different ingredients in both washing solutions respectively. Below are ways to wash leafy greens using the vinegar mix.
Making the Leafy Greens Mix and How to Do the Cleaning
Making the Solution: Unlike the previous method, we make the solution with the greens inside the solution bowl. Add one cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt should to four cups of water.
Soaking the Greens: After you make the mix, leave the greens to sit in the solution for two to five minutes. Greens aren't as tough as other vegetables and fruits on the outside so they need to be delicately handled. So soaking the greens and leaving them to sit helps achieve this purpose.
Rinsing and Drying:
After you've soaked the greens for the two to five minute period of soaking, rinse in cold running water inside a colander. It is important to rinse properly to prevent consuming the remnants of the solution. Also important is drying. If the greens are not dried, the excessive moisture content can lead to rot within the refrigerator.
After you've done all this, the greens are definitely ready for use.
Consuming fruits and vegetables helps in maintaining healthy living and no one should get sick over trying to live healthily. Washing vegetables with vinegar and water can prevent this. Get washing!