Easy Four-Step Fruit Washing Method

I was always the kind of person to give my fruit a quick rinse immediately prior to eating. That was before all the hype I saw on social media surrounding why it is important to thoroughly wash fruit prior to consuming.

I know that not everything on social media can be trustworthy - especially when creators aren't necessarily experts in the science behind food safety. However, after just one time of trying my soaking method, the evidence of why it's worth it was floating in and discoloring the water left in the bowl.

I am now a firm believer in taking the time to properly prepare fruit by giving it a good clean after purchasing. Here's the easy, safe, and effective method I've come to prefer:

Step 1: Selecting Your Fruit

This may seem like it should be a precursor to the actual process of cleaning, but the fruit you choose makes a difference in your starting point on the scale of dirty to clean.

Personally, I try to purchase as much organic produce as possible. This reassures me that I am selecting quality food that is limited in exposure to chemicals. Yes, I said limited, because nothing will be able to perfectly avoid all toxins.

Outside of just chemicals, all fruit can have bugs, dirt, germs from being handled, and mold spores. Just a few more reasons to wash that fruit!

Of the fruits you can select, some are known to be less clean than others. Fruits that are found on the Dirty Dozen list of produce include strawberries, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, and pears. This means they have continuously been found to contain traces of pesticides. If at all possible, I would highly recommend buying these in an organic variety.

On the contrary, there are also fruits included on the Clean 15 list of produce - avocados, pineapples, papayas, kiwis, cantaloupes, and honeydew melons. This means these fruits are least often found to contain traces of pesticides. This makes sense, because all of these fruits have an outer layer that isn't typically consumed. This can protect the inner portion that is eaten from coming into contact with harmful chemicals. While I am still partial to organic, it may not be as important to purchase these fruits in that variety. Additionally, these fruits wouldn't typically be included in the traditional practice of soaking fruit due to their outer coverings.

With all the above being said, I realize that organic fruit is more expensive and also may not be available for all fruit sold in a grocery store. I would recommend to do the best you can. Thankfully, the washing process should be enough to take care of any extra foreign substances that may be on non-organic fruit.

Step 2: Washing Your Fruit

Immediately (within reason!) wash your fruit after bringing them home from the store. My general process is to unload my groceries and start my soak while I put away the rest of my purchase.

So, how do you actually wash the fruit?

I start with a large, clean bowl. I use a recipe of three parts water to one part distilled white vinegar. I prefer to use distilled water rather than tap water, because I know it has any additives or natural compounds removed, ensuring it is a pure form of water. If you don't have access to distilled water, you are welcome to use any form of regular water available.

I usually find that I need 8 cups of total fluid to fill my large bowl to an acceptable level. To stick to the recipe according to the three parts water, 1 part distilled white vinegar ratio, this means I use 6 cups of distilled water and 2 cups of distilled white vinegar. This amount of wash allows me to wash up to four cartons of berries, as a references. Sometimes, if I have a large amount of fruit needing to be washed, I will do it in several rounds to allow for proper room in the bowl for all fruit to be submerged.

Once the liquid is mixed in the bowl, add the fruit. I typically set a timer for 15 minutes. This isn't an exact science, so you may find 10-20 minutes sufficient, depending on amount of fruit and the time you have to complete the process.

When the timer goes off, I strain the fruit and rinse under water from the faucet. For the rinsing process, you can use a colander or a salad spinner. Ensure you thoroughly rinse the fruit to remove any remaining particles that may be stuck to the fruit.

Step 3: Drying Your Fruit

After you rinse the fruit to your satisfaction, you will need to give the fruit proper time to dry. This is an important step to reduce the risk of molding from excess moisture.

I lay out a kitchen towel across the counter and sprinkle the cleaned fruit across it. I spread it around and make sure no fruit is piled up. I usually leave it for up to a few hours to air dry.

Step 4: Containing Your Fruit

Once the fruit has dried, it's time to organize and store it! There are a couple containers I prefer:

1. Tupperware Fridgesmart Containers: I received these as a wedding shower gift, and I have enjoyed them ever since! I have them in three sizes, which allows for always ensuring I have the right one to fit each category of produce I have at the time. They have a slider on top to adjust airflow for optimal freshness. There is also a handy dandy chart on the side of each container to show where the slider should be set for depending on what you are storing inside.

2. Any Large, Glass Container: I try to use glass storage containers as much as possible, as it reduces exposure to toxic chemicals.

I have found both of the above container choices to keep fruit fresh for up to two weeks, so you can't really go wrong with either. Before adding fruit to an appropriately-sized container, I line the bottom with a paper towel. This helps to remove any moisture that may build up from being in the refrigerator.

As I transfer the fruit from the counter to the container, I may gently pat it with paper towel if there is any water remaining. I tend to only put one kind of fruit in each container. The only ones I may choose to combine if I need to conserve container space are blackberries and raspberries; I have found these to be similar enough that they do well sharing an environment.

And there you have it - an easy four-step process to ensuring you are consuming clean fruit! I had always thought a quick rinse before eating was sufficient to ridding any grime or chemicals from the outside, but since adopting this method, I realized how much was still left behind. Give this method a try and let me know your thoughts!