How to Clean Your Produce

One thing you want to do after purchasing produce and bringing it home is to wash it. The easiest way to wash your produce, especially strawberries, is to use a vinegar and water solution. Washing your fruit and vegetables in vinegar solution is a good way to remove any potential bacteria and dirt on them. Mix a solution of three parts water and one part vinegar. Or do like I do and fill up a bowl with water and pour in some vinegar. Don’t tell my husband I’m not measuring again….lol.

And don’t worry… you cannot taste any vinegar after washing them like this.

For me, how my process works is to do these steps below.

How to Clean Your Produce:

1. Fill Bowl Up with 3 Parts Water to 1 Part Vinegar 
2. Add Produce to Bowl
3. Let Sit for Few Minutes (dependent on which item you are cleaning)
4. Take Produce out and Rinse in a Colander 
5. Let Produce Dry
6. Store in Appropriate Place

How long you soak your produce will depend on the item. For strawberries they recommend ten minutes, but I let mine site for about 3-4 minutes. With berries if you let them sit longer then a minute or two they will get a bit water logged and soggy. So it may be a trial and error on your end for finding which time works. The most important part is to let them soak just enough to get clean!

You can dry your produce by sitting out to air dry or maybe try a salad spinner! After you get done drying them you can store your produce in the appropriate area.