Fresh Vegetable Recipes

The proper way to wash NON-organic fresh vegetables from the grocery store?

I've been cooking for years, so I feel silly asking this question. I guess what I want to know is, is rinsing broccoli, celery, bell peppers, etc under warm tap water before storing them in zip lock bags in the crisper sufficient? Or do I need to go all out and get the special vegetable wash and a scrubbing tool?

Public Comments

1. Use warm water or room tempature water and soak them for 15 20 mins an then just shake them off... they are fine after that..
2. it doesnt have to be warm tap water. i wash mine in kinda cold water. if you live in texas i wouldn't use tap water
3. Not warm water...NEVER warm water. Always cold water and either with some salt or flower (I mean the flower in the kitchen) ps:warm water will reduce the size
4. I wash my veggies with a mild detergent wash and peel everything I can before using it. I peel carrots, potatoes, etc. I have never used the special wash but our newspaper recommended it recently. Maybe I will switch to the organic veggies.
5. If you are going to freeze them, then the bacteria will become dormant and you won't have to worry about them. If you are just going to cook them, then rinsing them off with water and making sure they reach a temp of 150-160 degrees will be fine. Even if you are going to eat them raw, for all practical purposes a good rinse is sufficient.
6. Normally use veg soap w/wht vinger, just a dash. If I am washing my salad greens for ahead I add a bit of peroxide. Then I spread damp greens on tea towels(thin) and place in plastic bags.I also put some fresh herbs on greens and some times choped veggies. you may want to squeeze lime on this . salad un-rolled!
7. Best way to be sure you get the germs and dirt off is to immerse the vegetables in a cold water bath with a tiny bit of Clorox and then rinse them again and dry.
8. I look at it this way. My great aunts just rinsed veggies from the garden and used them. Nobody got sick. And they didn't have that vegetable rinse. I follow their model and just rinse well and store. No problems here at home. I think people are too paranoid nowadays.
9. I buy a veggie wash. It comes in a spray bottle and they'll sell it in the produce aisle. There are a few name brands.