Do you wash your celery

[KatyCooks]

I don't wash celery because I never have the vile stuff in the house!

 

[User0204]

So ahh, you don't like celery then?

 

[KatyCooks]

Yah think?

 

[taxlady]

Just making sure. I read not to wah leafy vegetables.

You don't want to wash leafy vegetables before you store them in the fridge, unless you let them dry really well. If you put them in the fridge wet in a plastic bag, they will rot quickly. Well, other fruit and veg won't do well wet in a plastic bag, but most of it will dry more easily and quickly than leafy veg.

 

[GotGarlic]

I mainly wash all vegetables to remove insecticides and pesticides, which are probably more common in the vegetables than "germs". And celery is one of that "dirty dozen", which almost always have more than one chemical on them, when tested.

The people who compile the "dirty dozen" are part of an advocacy group whose goal is to promote organic food, not to give you advice on eating better food.

This is from a study published in the Journal of Toxicology called Dietary Exposure to Pesticide Residues from Commodities Alleged to Contain the Highest Contamination Levels:

Probabilistic techniques were used to characterize dietary exposure of consumers to pesticides found in twelve commodities implicated as having the greatest potential for pesticide residue contamination by a United States-based environmental advocacy group. Estimates of exposures were derived for the ten most frequently detected pesticide residues on each of the twelve commodities based upon residue findings from the United States Department of Agriculture's Pesticide Data Program. All pesticide exposure estimates were well below established chronic reference doses (RfDs). Only one of the 120 exposure estimates exceeded 1% of the RfD (methamidophos on bell peppers at 2% of the RfD), and only seven exposure estimates (5.8 percent) exceeded 0.1% of the RfD. Three quarters of the pesticide/commodity combinations demonstrated exposure estimates below 0.01% of the RfD (corresponding to exposures one million times below chronic No Observable Adverse Effect Levels from animal toxicology studies), and 40.8% had exposure estimates below 0.001% of the RfD. It is concluded that (1) exposures to the most commonly detected pesticides on the twelve commodities pose negligible risks to consumers, (2) substitution of organic forms of the twelve commodities for conventional forms does not result in any appreciable reduction of consumer risks, and (3) the methodology used by the environmental advocacy group to rank commodities with respect to pesticide risks lacks scientific credibility.

 

[Marlingardener]

I wash every vegetable. Those from the grocery more thoroughly than those from our vegetable garden. I also wash fruits. We don't use insecticides (except sticky traps) and try to keep our gardens as clean as possible.
Not wash leafy vegetables? Where on earth did you read that, in an article written by someone protein and roughage deprived?

 

[User0204]

Should clarify - I only wash my vegies immediately before I use them. As for Organic stuff - I refuse to buy it due to the rediculous price.

 

[HeyItsSara]

Everything is washed in the market. It doesn't look like it was just picked from the dirt.

 

[caseydog]

Do you wash lettuce? or spinach, broccoli?

What about potatoes and carrots?

I do wash potatoes, because I eat the skins (lots of nutrition in the skins). I do not usually wash lettuce, spinach or broccoli. I hate carrots, so I don't do anything with them.

CD

 

[User0204]

Everything is washed in the market. It doesn't look like it was just picked from the dirt.

True, but what about when it is sitting in the supermarket for all to feel, cough and sneeze over ? Worse case scenario obvioously and one of the problems with buffets.

 

[caseydog]

Should clarify - I only wash my vegies immediately before I use them. As for Organic stuff - I refuse to buy it due to the rediculous price.

Too bad, there are some organic foods that actually taste better. On is milk. It tastes considerably better, and lasts longer. When I buy organic milk, the "use by" date is always at least a month out.

There are other organic foods that don't taste any different. I won't pay extra to buy them.

CD

 

[HeyItsSara]

True, but what about when it is sitting in the supermarket for all to feel, cough and sneeze over ? Worse case scenario obvioously and one of the problems with buffets.

But how long do those germs last? Certainly they die when they're cooked.

 

[dragnlaw]

Although I do cook celery - most often it is eaten raw.

and germs can last a VERY long time! They don't just 'die' on their own.

 

[caseydog]

Although I do cook celery - most often it is eaten raw.

I love Cajun food, so I cook with celery a lot. It is one element of "The Trinity." (onions and bell peppers are the other two -- garlic is the Pope)

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

and just to add - no, your vegies are NOT washed at the market. They may be sprayed but they are not washed.

 

[HeyItsSara]

Meh. I can't be bothered.

 

[jennyema]

But how long do those germs last? Certainly they die when they're cooked.

A common misperception, sadly

 

[GotGarlic]

Everything is washed in the market. It doesn't look like it was just picked from the dirt.

Not at the market, but I believe solid raw vegetables (not leafy stuff) are sprayed with water to remove dirt at the processing facilities near the farms. They're often treated with a mild bleach solution to prevent microbial growth.

 

[GotGarlic]

Too bad, there are some organic foods that actually taste better. On is milk. It tastes considerably better, and lasts longer. When I buy organic milk, the "use by" date is always at least a month out.

There are other organic foods that don't taste any different. I won't pay extra to buy them.

CD

Just for everyone's information, organic milk lasts longer than conventional because it's ultra-pasteurized.

 

[GotGarlic]

and germs can last a VERY long time! They don't just 'die' on their own.

Many of them do when they have no water to stimulate growth.