What are we washing off when we wash fruits and vegetables? Are we doing a good job? How can we do better?
In: Chemistry
It depends on where your fruit came from and how exactly you are doing the washing:
* Pesticides applied by the grower.
* Food waxes applied by the distributor.
* Natural biofilms.
* Loose dirt and debris from growing, picking and handling.
Could you do a better job? Almost certainly, but there is a point of diminishing returns.
How much do you care about getting stuff off of the fruit?
I use soap and water to wash my fruit and veg. I don’t think I could actually do better than that.
The harder fruits and veg get scrubbed. The softer ones, like lettuce and green onions, get swished around in the soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Then they all get rinsed and the leafy stuff gets drained and the non-leafy stuff gets dried off.
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