Why do you need to wash fruit? What is this substance? General provisions on how to wash vegetables and fruits

Summer is a generous time for vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs. At this time of the year, we can get macro- and microelements, vitamins, dietary fiber from all the variety that grows and ripens on earth.
At the same time, if elementary hygiene standards are not observed, as well as improper washing of berries, vegetables, fruits and herbs, we risk contracting intestinal infections and helminthiases.
You need to thoroughly wash not only purchased vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs, but also what is plucked from the garden at your dacha. Thorough washing of fruits and herbs is a prerequisite for their use and a measure for the prevention of intestinal infections.
One of the main rules is that you should buy vegetables and fruits in places of authorized trade, where the quality and safety of the products sold are monitored.
Greens require special attention. Green onions, dill, parsley, cilantro, sorrel, salad greens must first be sorted out, the roots, yellowed and damaged leaves removed. Soak the greens in a container with cool water for 15 minutes, periodically changing the water and sorting the greens into individual leaves and twigs, until all the dirt settles to the bottom and the water in the container becomes clean. After that, the greens should be thoroughly rinsed under running water. For better cleansing of greens from pathogenic bacteria and microbes, you can hold it for half an hour in a saline-vinegar solution (1 tablespoon of salt and vinegar per 1 liter of water).

Berries of strawberries, cherries, sweet cherries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, plums and others are best put in a colander in one layer and washed under running water for 5-7 minutes. Then it is recommended to alternately 2-3 times perch
Use a colander alternately in a container of very hot and very cold water.
Root crops that can be covered with earth (potatoes, radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes) first need to be held a little in warm water so that particles of the earth are washed off, and then thoroughly cleaned with a brush under running water and rinse the vegetables themselves well: first with warm, and then cold water.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, squash, zucchini, peppers, pumpkins, beans should be washed off the ground in running water and then washed thoroughly under running water with a brush for 2-3 minutes and rinsed with boiled water.
Cabbage must be cleaned of outer leaves before washing, as they and the stalk can accumulate nitrates. Before rinsing with cool water, it is better to divide the cauliflower into inflorescences and be sure to free them from darkened areas.
Apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots should be thoroughly washed with warm running water using a brush (you can use laundry soap) and scalded with boiling water.
Do not neglect the washing of fruits and fruits that you will then peel - tangerines, lemons, grapefruits, bananas, pomegranates, watermelons and melons should also be washed with warm water using a brush (using laundry soap). Grapes should be washed under running water, preferably divided into clusters.
By following these recommendations, you will protect yourself and your family from intestinal infections.

Vegetables and fruits should be washed before eating, whether they are farm-raised, organic, or bought from the nearest supermarket. However, now there are cleansers for washing vegetables, fruits and even eggs (!), claiming to remove all mental bacteria, pollution and other E. coli. Like, you won’t really wash anything off with water, do you know how many chemicals are poured on vegetables and fruits for growth and preservation ?! That's the same. But is it true that plain water is not enough? Let's figure it out.

I will not beat around the bush, I will say right away: washing vegetables and fruits with ordinary water eliminates up to 98% of bacteria from their surface! True, it is recommended to use not running, but distilled or bottled water, in order to avoid impurities that tap water is “rich in”. So if you have been washing vegetables “the old fashioned way” all your life, then, in general, you did the right thing.

However, even such a simple action as washing vegetables and fruits has its own secrets that you need to know. Here they are:

1. Before washing food, wash your hands

Everyone knows that any vegetables, fruits and berries must be thoroughly washed. Thanks to this procedure, earth, dust, sand are removed from the fruits. In addition, washing products allows you to remove pesticides that were used to treat the plant during growth (for pest control, for example) and some microorganisms that are on the surface of the products.

There are general rules for washing vegetables and fruits. It is no secret that many imported fruits and vegetables are treated with waxes and paraffins. To wash off this surface layer, you need to thoroughly wash the fruit in soapy water with a brush. You can wash vegetables, fruits and berries both manually under running water, and with the help of colanders and special nets for washing food. If you suffer from allergies, it is useful to pre-soak imported vegetables and fruits for an hour in cold water. It is also recommended to peel off the skin of any fruits and vegetables brought from abroad, even apples.

The faster the process of washing vegetables, fruits and berries, the more vitamins you save in the products. But the quality of washing should not suffer from this. It is better to eat washed fruits and vegetables immediately after washing. The reason for this haste is that during the treatment of the fruit with water, the skin is damaged, the fruit begins to rapidly deteriorate and, therefore, lose its beneficial properties. To preserve the maximum of nutrients, you need to peel fruits and vegetables with a stainless steel knife.

If having cleared cucumber, zucchini or potatoes, you find yellow spots under the skin, it is better to throw these vegetables away, because they have too much nitrates. To reduce the amount of nitrates in fruits, they can be put in salt water for a day. But at the same time, the amount of vitamins will also decrease.

Each product has its own approach

Potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, radishes, horseradish and other root crops should first be cleaned from the ground. To do this, they need to be filled with warm water and let stand in it for a while. Then the earth should be carefully cleaned with a brush. After that, the vegetables must be washed first with warm, and then with cold running water and peeled.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, squash, eggplant, pumpkin, bean and pea pods It is recommended to wash in running water with your hands or a brush. Before you wash onions, you need to cut off the bottom of it. Then you need to peel the onion from the dry husk. After that, the onions are washed in cold running water. Corn cobs should be thoroughly washed in cold water, after being freed from the leaves.

Oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, lemons and other citrus fruits are recommended to be scalded with boiling water first. This is done in order to get rid of superficial preservatives. Then they need to be washed with cold running water.

Apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, bananas, pomegranates and other fruits should be thoroughly washed with cold, always running water, and preferably with soap. Pineapple is recommended to be washed under running water right along with the leaves. Then you need to shake off the drops and let it dry. Wash watermelons and melons under running water with your hands or with a brush.

Grape should be washed under the "shower" from the tap. Then you need to let the water drain. You can separate the clusters without tearing the berries from the petioles, and rinse under running water, and then dry in a colander.

Dried fruits, bought both in the market and in the store, must be washed before use. Rinse them with cold water under the tap, put them in a sieve or colander and quickly pour boiling water over them. This will help get rid of preservatives that manufacturers often add to dried fruits. Natural dried fruits, without preservatives, should be kept in hot water for a longer time to remove sand and other natural impurities.

white cabbage usually do not wash. Usually, the top leaves, polluted, withered and affected by pests, are removed from her, getting to clean and fresh ones. It is recommended to remove and discard the stalk, as it is a source of nitrates.

Before washing greenery, it is carefully processed - roots, stems, yellowed leaves are removed. Most often, greens are very difficult to wash from the ground, sand and dust, so it is recommended to wash lettuce, spinach, sorrel, rhubarb, dill, parsley, green onion feathers not under running water, but in cold water poured into a capacious dish. In the process, the water must be changed several times so that all the dirt settles. Only after that the greens are washed under the tap.

Salad celery clean before washing - cut off the roots, clean the dark places on the stem. After that, the celery is placed for 1-2 hours in cold water, and then washed twice in clean water.

Wash leek follows only after the spoiled upper leaves are removed from it. It also needs to be cut along. So the dirt is better removed from the leaves. It is recommended to wash the leek in a capacious dish in plenty of water.

Before washing cauliflower , its inflorescences must be cleaned of darkened places with a knife or grater. Cauliflower may have small bugs. To get rid of them, you need to hold the inflorescences either in strongly salted water for 5-10 minutes, or for half an hour in water with the addition of vinegar at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water.

Before eating artichokes, they cut off the stem and all rough and damaged leaves. After that, they are washed in cold running water. The lower parts of artichokes are eaten, the tops of the leaf-flakes are inedible.

asparagus wash in cold water in a capacious dish. Then the asparagus is cleaned with a sharp knife in the direction from the head to the base of the stem, about 2 cm should be retreated from the head. After cleaning, the asparagus is again quickly washed in cold water.

Before washing sprouts Brussels sprouts cut off the stem. It is not recommended to do this in advance, otherwise the cabbage will wither. spoiled places with cut. After that, the cabbage is washed in cold water.

Olga Nikitina

Reading time: 13 minutes

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Even children know that fruits and vegetables should always be washed before eating to remove dirt, germs and chemical residues that the plants have been treated with during their growth. And so that a vegetable salad or fruit dessert does not become a “springboard” to the hospital, the approach to food processing must be individual.

General rules for washing vegetables and fruits

To wash away dirt and dust from fruits and vegetables, rinsing under running water is usually sufficient.

But if the product also contains harmful microorganisms, pesticides, traces of processing for storage (wax and paraffin) or even “thermonuclear” chemistry used to protect plants, plain water is indispensable. Here we need more heavy artillery.

Video: How to wash fruits and vegetables?

First of all, let's talk about the general rules for processing purchased (picked, dug up) vegetables and fruits:

• If you are sure of the purity of vegetables and fruits, because you brought them from your own garden, then you can get by with running water. For purchased ones (especially imported ones), the rules are different. First of all, we get rid of waxes and paraffin. To do this, wash fruits and vegetables in water with a separate brush, and then rinse under the tap.
• If fruits and vegetables are bought for kids, first soak the future salad or dessert in cold water (at the same time we will get rid of the share of harmful substances inside the fruit, if any), and then rinse in the usual way and cut off the skin. Of course, for domestic apples this “trick” will be superfluous, but for imported glossy ones it is highly recommended.
• If you have washed fruits and vegetables, then eat them immediately or use them for jams, salads, etc. . Do not store them for a long time after washing. Firstly, they quickly deteriorate, and secondly, they lose vitamins and other useful substances.
• When cleaning, use only stainless steel appliances.
• If there are yellow spots on vegetables (zucchini, cucumbers or potatoes), get rid of them immediately and without hesitation. Such spots are a sign of excess nitrates. Nitrate levels can be reduced by soaking potatoes or carrots in salted water for a day. But along with nitrates, you will also get rid of vitamins.
• Fruits and vegetables prepared for baby food , it is recommended to wash not with running water, but with distilled water.
• It is strictly forbidden to use dish detergent or ordinary soap for fruits and vegetables. Chemical components can get under the skin of the fruit and cause poisoning.

Means for washing vegetables and fruits - store and home

Whoever advises you to use laundry soap - or any dishwashing detergent - for processing vegetables and fruits, confirming the effectiveness of the classic "well, you see, nothing happened to me" - do not listen! A categorical ban on these products when washing fruits! They are not rinsed out to the end (even if it is a children's "ECO-remedy"), and the components of the product are sent along with fruits and vegetables straight to your body.

What means to use if "just rinse" did not fit?

Home Remedies:

• Baby soap without additives, dyes and fragrances.
• Lemon juice + soda. For a "cleaning agent" mix a spoonful of soda and a spoonful of lemon juice in a glass of water. Next, pour the solution into a clean spray bottle, spray on the fruits, wait 2-3 minutes and rinse in the usual way. After use, hide the product in the refrigerator.
• Vinegar. We take the product in half with ordinary water, stir, wash the fruits in the solution and rinse under running tap water. Helps in wax removal and disinfection.
• Salt. For 1 liter of water - 4 tablespoons of ordinary salt.
• Hydrogen peroxide. With it, you not only clean the fetus, but also disinfect it. The tool is used simply: on a container with water - 1 tbsp / l of the drug.

Professional tools:

Yes, yes, there are some. It's just that they are not firmly established in the domestic market yet.

The application scheme is simple and does not require unnecessary actions with soda, peroxide, etc.

So, the best are recognized ...

• Bentley organic. This composition contains natural acids (approx. - malic, lactic and citric), as well as aloe vera. High efficiency against bacteria and microbes - 100% neutralization of the entire "infection".
• Safeguard Fruit Veggie Wash. In this "set" of components: plant extracts and glycerin, emulsifiers, aloe vera, and citrus essential oils. Cleansing - 100 times more effective than ordinary water.
• Mako Clean. Similar in composition to the 1st product, but less expensive. Our domestic product with high efficiency and absolute safety.
• Eat cleaner. An ideal tool for those who like to eat vegetables / fruits in nature. Represents napkins with special impregnation: vegetable glycerin, natural (natural) washing components, sea salt, citric acid and sodium citrate. The very case when you can do without washing the fruit (just wipe it with a napkin).
• Sodasan. Special liquid "soap" for fruits and vegetables. It is applied to the fruit and then washed off with plenty of water. Ingredients: saponified vegetable oils, classic soda, fruit acids and grapefruit extract. The tool is recommended to be used for the treatment of melons and watermelons.

Of course, these funds are more expensive than we would like, but their consumption is very small, and one bottle of the product is usually enough for a very long time.

How to wash various vegetables - instructions for the hostess

Each vegetable has its own processing method!

For example…

• White cabbage. As a rule, it is not even washed. 2-3 layers of leaves are simply removed from it (until clean and fresh), and then the stalk is cut out. It was 20-25 years ago that children considered cabbage stalks to be a delicacy and waited for their mother to start “cutting” cabbage. Today, the stump is an unequivocal source of nitrates (it is in it that they are collected).
• Cauliflower. On this vegetable, we clean all the darkened areas with a knife (or a vegetable grater), and then disassemble it into inflorescences and dip it in salted water for 10 minutes so that all the worms that adore cauliflower flare up to the surface.
• Kohlrabi rinse and free from its skin.
• Artichokes. First, the stem is cut off from these vegetables, then all damaged leaves are removed, and only after that they are washed in running water, setting aside the baskets and bases of artichoke leaves for preparing dinner (note - the rest is not eaten).
• Roots(approx. - horseradish and radishes, carrots and potatoes, beets, etc.) first soak in warm water and then brush off the ground. Next - rinse in warm and then in cold water, and then remove the peel.
• At the corn first remove the leaves, and then rinse under the tap.
• Cucumbers and tomatoes (as well as green vegetables, eggplants, peppers and squash) soak for a short time in cold water (if there is a suspicion of nitrates, you can use salted water), then rinse under the tap.
• asparagus usually cleaned in a wide bowl and with a sharp knife, starting from the head of the vegetable - and along its base. Immediately after cleaning - rinse thoroughly under the tap.

Proper washing of fruits and berries

Even if you personally picked fruits from trees, this does not mean that you can burst them just by rubbing them on your shirt.

The approach to fruits is no less special than to vegetables.

• Citrus. Usually they are sold shiny from wax and other substances. And even after washing, they remain a little sticky. Therefore, you should first scald the lemon (orange, etc.) with boiling water from the kettle, and then rinse it under the tap.
• As for pineapples , they are washed with leaves under the tap - cold water. Then let it dry on its own.
• Melons and watermelons, pumpkins and zucchini wash with a special or home remedy in the bathroom (or sink) with a brush.
• Pomegranates, pears with apples, apricots with peaches and plums soak briefly in cold water and rinse under the tap in the usual way.
• Grape it is recommended to put under a tap shower in a bowl or colander and, dividing into clusters, rinse.
• For dried fruits be sure to soak. But first - a shower with boiling water.
• Berries like grapes , put in a colander in 1 layer (do not pile in a big pile!) And leave it under the "shower" for 4-5 minutes. If there are doubts about the purity of the berries (for example, strawberries with earth on the skin or too sticky cherries), then we lower the colander with them into hot water, then into very cold water, then again into hot water and again into cold water. It would be enough.

Poorly washed greens are practically “Russian roulette”. Maybe lucky, maybe not.

Video: How to wash greens? Part 1

Video: How to wash greens? Part 2

To stay alive and healthy, remember the rules for washing greens:

• Remove the roots, lower part of the stems (note - nitrates settle in them) and rotten parts.
• Rinse off visible dirt thoroughly under a faucet.
• And now we soak the greens in salt water (per 1 liter - 1 tbsp salt) for 15 minutes. All the dirt will settle on the bottom of the dishes.
• Next, do not drain the water (!) , and carefully pull out the greens and transfer to a colander. Then rinse again (carefully!) And only then cut into a salad.

What else needs to be remembered?

1. The main danger is hidden between the leaves and at the junction of the stem with the branches (for example, helminth eggs or the remains of the earth with fertilizers).
2. Lettuce celery can be soaked in cold / water for an hour and a half and then rinsed.
3. We first lower the nettle for 2-3 minutes in boiling water, and then cool it under running water.
4. We wash the green salad very carefully (according to statistics, they are most often "poisoned" with it). It is recommended to separate each sheet, tear off part of its base and then rinse it very carefully from 2 sides until the feeling of “slipperiness” disappears - that is, until it squeaks.

If you liked our article and have any thoughts about it, please share with us. It is very important for us to know your opinion!

Supermarkets sell a large number of imported plant products. As you might guess, in order to extend their shelf life and give them a “glossy” look, they are treated with various substances and methods. Unfortunately, this does not provide benefits to fruits and vegetables, and therefore their consumption can be harmful to human health. If it is not possible to grow herbal products yourself, or buy them from organic farms, then it is recommended that they be thoroughly washed and cleaned to partially get rid of nitrates and pesticides.

How fruits and vegetables are processed

1. Paraffin and wax often used for surface treatment of products. This is done to give them a glossy sheen and increase shelf life.

2. Diphenyl impregnate paper packaging. As a rule, citrus fruits are packed in such a “wrapper”. This organic compound is a product of oil refining and is considered a harmful agent that can provoke the onset of cancer.

3. Methyl bromide and fungicides used to remove mold and kill pests.

5. Pesticides are perhaps the most common chemicals used to treat fruits and vegetables at the fruit ripening stage to kill pests. They are very harmful to human health. Pesticides tend to accumulate in the body, which causes various serious diseases.

6. Nitrates is known to be used to fertilize the soil and promote the growth of plant products. They are found in various parts of plants, including their fruits. Their use causes significant harm to a person, and in large quantities nitrates can be fatal.

General rules on how to properly wash food

Any herbal products must be thoroughly rinsed under cold running water before use.

The presence of a glossy appearance in fruits and vegetables, as we have already found out, indicates that they are waxed. To remove it, you need to use a brush. Also, many people use special detergents, which can now be bought in specialized stores or even in ordinary supermarkets.

In addition, to remove preservatives from the surface of the fruit, they can be scalded with boiling water. This method is mainly used for peeling citrus fruits.

How to get rid of chemicals in fruits and vegetables

WATERMELONS. You should not buy watermelons cut in half and wrapped in film - this is a good basis for the reproduction of bacteria and microbes. If the watermelon has thick and yellowish veins, it was fertilized. You can also conduct a small test: put the pulp for one minute in a glass of water, the water has changed color, which means that the watermelon was fed, the water just turned cloudy - the berry is clean.

GRAPE. To keep the grapes for a long time, they are treated with fungicides. To get rid of this substance, wash the berries well enough.

PEARS AND APPLES. When purchasing fruits, pick them up if you feel that the fruits are slippery, sticky, they are treated with diphenyl or wax. In the European Union, the USA, diphenyl is prohibited due to its strong carcinogenic and allergenic properties. Biphenyl-treated fruits must be peeled.

GREENS, SALAD, PARSLEY, DILL. Most of all, chemistry accumulates in veins, petioles - you don’t need to eat it. Greens always absorb nitrates faster and soak for an hour in water before adding it to dishes.

Zucchini, CUCUMBERS, EGGLANTS. Cucumbers in color should be of a delicate herbal color, if they are dark green, this indicates that they were overfed with nitrates. The first zucchini and eggplants need to be peeled. Cut off the stalk area - this is the most poisonous place.

POTATO. In potatoes, chemistry is collected under the skin and in the core of the tuber, so after the potato has boiled this water must be drained.

CABBAGE. The top cabbage leaves and stalk contain more nitrates than the head itself, so they should be discarded.

BEET, CARROT, RADISH. A huge amount of nitrates is found in the tops and tips of root crops, trim them before use. Do not buy beets with twisted tails. In carrots, cut off 1 cm of the tail, the green part must be cut off completely, it contains a large amount of chemicals.

TOMATOES. When choosing tomatoes, remember that the thicker the skin, the more chemicals it contains. Do not buy orange-red tomatoes (as if unripe). Do not be shy and ask the seller to cut the tomato and if it has white flesh and thick veins, this means a high content of chemistry. And if you still come across low-quality tomatoes, hold them in cool water for about 1 hour.

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As you can see, washing vegetables and fruits is not difficult. But it is still recommended to buy products from organic farms and household owners. With the help of the Internet, now it is not difficult to find out their location in your region. ;)