Salad greens at the farmers market
The best way to wash produce is in a solution of 3 parts tap water to 1 part distilled vinegar.
Hard fruits such as apples and pears may be sprayed with the solution, while soft produce such as berries and lettuce can be soaked in the solution for about 10 minutes. After spraying or soaking, be sure to rinse the produce again in plain water to remove any vinegar flavor.
When four methods of washing produce were compared in a recent test conducted by Cooks Illustrated magazine, the results found that:
- rinsing under cold running tap water removes only 25 percent of bacteria
- scrubbing with a brush removes 85 percent of bacteria
- washing with a vinegar solution removes 98 percent of surface bacteria
- scrubbing with antibacterial soap is only slightly more effective than a vinegar solution
Produce washed with a vinegar solution also tends to have a longer shelf life in the refrigerator. Considering the cost of antibacterial soap, a vinegar solution is the clear choice.
Vinegar is inexpensive, effective, and very environmentally friendly.
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