Washing fruit and vegetables

DH insists that mushrooms are peeled although I have told him that they are grown in very "clean" conditions and the heat required to cook them would kill any nasties [I'm a microbiologist]...
A quick rinse won't get rid of pesticides, but might remove the worst of them, ditto bacteria. I rarely rinse as I mostly cook my fruit and veg.

Isn’t everything fed on water Barmeyoldbat?

I do wash virtually everything that’s not organic pretty well. Not as well as I should do though - I once read that you should soak fruit (such as apples and pears) in water with bicarbonate of soda in for 8 mins and then rub. Salted water (2%) for veg. The pesticides are apparently harder to remove than you would think.

No idea what to do with soft fruit though...

MissA

I always rinse fruit under the tap. Some veg such as leeks need more careful prep due to grit etc. My husband never washes fruit, I'm not sure a quick rinse with cold water will get rid of pesticide etc though.

I always wash fruit and veg under the tap - even bagged salad is rinsed and spun in the salad spinner (my mum used to put lettuce in a tea towel and spin it in the separate spin drier years ago ). I peel veg like carrots and parsnips and often peel mushrooms although my husband just washes those. Must admit I've thought about washing the outside of a melon although never done it but how on earth do you wash the outside of a pineapple?!

I always remember Mrs Bridges saying ' you must never wash strawberries'!
Gennaro washes his random pickings e.g. mushrooms in bicarb.

I do wash watercress even though it says it has been washed in spring water!

Never wash any fruit or veg. The only thing I am a bit funny about eating is water melon as its fed on water, but what water I ask.

Watching a HidaMari recipe on YouTube I noticed that fruit with a skin was first rinsed in a bowl of water then gently rubbed with salt flakes (kosher salt) with one hand whilst holding with the other hand then swizzled in the water again. Takes 10 seconds or less.
Good if, like me, you infuse milk
cream or batter with shavings of orange, lime or lemon peel.
That's what I now do.
Incidentally, some of their recipes are delish.

I put salads, vegetables etc in a colander and wash under a running cold tap. Then I spin lettuce to get rid of the water and dry other salad stuff on a clean tea towel or kitchen roll. I don't like wet salad.
I always wash fruit but don't peel (if you can eat the peel)

Scrub or peel potatoes, root vegetables.

I put cut soup vegetables in a large pot of water swirl it round a few times and leave it for a while so dirt and gritty soil sinks to bottom. I lift the veg out of the water and rinse the pot out before replacing the veg to make soup.

Leeks are the worst for hidden dirt, I cut them in half down the length, open them up and rinse them up under the cold water tap. Also celeriac.. I peel it but still find it difficult to get all the soil off. I generally steam my veg.. Keeps good flavour

I give outdoor grown salad stuff a rinse under the cold tap to remove dust and earthy veg obviously needs a scrub to remove dried on mud, but as most salad stuff is now grown indoors hydroponically there doesn’t seem much point. Removing nasty stuff from the unwashed hands of a picker or chemicals from the surface of a lettuce leaf is pretty impossible so I don’t try.

And I’ve never possessed a mushroom brush.

You should also wash things with rinds. When you cut into them, any dirt on the outside is transferred to the inside, so it makes sense.

Don’t often wash fruit for me or Mr C, always do for the children. I never wash veg that is being cooked or peeled. I doubtlessly should be more careful.

I wash avocados before cutting.

A few years ago I picked up an absolutely awful bowel infection. Eventually a test was done and I had a type of bowel parasite called amoebic cysts. The symptoms were horrendous and the doctor told me I had picked it up from eating unwashed fruit or veg.

I am paranoid now about making sure all my uncooked stuff is thoroughly washed.

I'm obviously a very dirty person as I don't generally wash my fruit or veg! I know all about the sprays and such stuff but I'm now 63 and have a cast iron stomach!

Don't bother with veg as I am usually cooking or peeling it, but fruit always gets put in a colander and has a good swill under the tap.

I wash and also peel everything.

But you don’t eat the skin of a melon !

I wash fruit and veg in salt water. As well as being sprayed, vegetables are likely to be contaminated by manured soil. Melons I always scrub before cutting.

I just clean off any mud under the tap. Unfortunately the chemicals that are used penetrate the fruit/veg anyway. I always strip off the outer leaves of cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce etc for this reason. A programme a few weeks back said commercially grown strawberries were the worst for the amount of spray used. Doesn't matter so much for oldies but I am concerned for GCs.

I like to put mine through the dishwasher. with my cloths and toilet brush.

Not really. I just run them under the tap.

Yes I m like Cabbie with uncooked veg or fruit but I don’t wash it if I m cooking it as I ve always presumed everything is lost in the boiling
Well I m still here so not too worried by it all

Rinse a few times in a bowl of cold water.