Can I simply soak fruit and vegetables in water for several hours to sanitize them?
To optimize my time as much as possible, I would like to know if I can simply put them in water and leave them there for a while. This would help if there are lots of fruits and vegetables to be washed. Would this help to remove bacteria and pesticides on them? How long should they be soaked in minimum to really be effective? How long in maximum to avoid effects on taste and nutrition? How long before they get spoiled? Should I put something into the water?
Best Answer
Washing fruit and vegetables in water is less an exercise in sterilisation and more a case of simply washing off any mud or debris. Soaking in still water does nothing to clean, well, anything really. Even if you sterilise the water and container, the fruit itself will still be teeming with bacteria which would be perfectly happy to multiply in stagnant water.
Simply wash the fruit/veg under a briskly running stream of water to remove any major dirt. There is unlikely to be anything terrible on fruit or vegetables in any case, assuming you have a healthy immune system.
If you really want to reduce bacterial load, the only solution is thorough cooking.
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How long can you soak vegetables in water?
Recommendations. Soaking vegetables that are especially dirty or covered in pesticides is an effective way of sanitizing them, especially if some vinegar is added. Avoid cutting the vegetables up before soaking them, and limit the soak to two minutes or less in order to avoid excessive leaching of nutrients.What is the best way to disinfect fruits and vegetables?
Wash or scrub fruits and vegetables under running water\u2014even if you do not plan to eat the peel. Germs on the peel or skin can get inside fruits and vegetables when you cut them. Washing fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash is not recommended .How long should you soak fruit to clean?
Add 1 cup of white vinegar and submerge your fruits and vegetables in the water. Let soak for 15 minutes. Drain the water and give the produce a quick rinse. To dry, lay the produce out on a kitchen towel until completely dry or hand dry each piece individually.Does soaking fruit in water clean it?
Godwin says they do get rid of most bacteria, but her team of researchers found that water works just as well. They found that water can remove 98 percent of bacteria when it's used to rinse and soak produce.THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE PESTICIDES FROM YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES - Dr Mandell, DC
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Answer 2
Washing/soaking in a 3:1 water/vinegar mixture can eliminate 98% of bacteria. 1 However, there is not a distinct improvement over washing under running water.
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