Special product for washing fruits. Products for washing fruits and vegetables. Why eco-friendly fruit and vegetable washes should be in your kitchen

Products for washing fruits and vegetables have long ceased to be a whim, having become an urgent necessity. If earlier we only washed away dirt, bugs and what developed and multiplied thanks to all this (did this really ever happen?!), now we must get rid of shipping wax, pesticides and who knows what else, unknown to the average person, but even more formidable and harmful.

Nowadays, it's no problem to buy a fruit and vegetable wash, but it's also not a problem to make your own, although it will probably take a few extra seconds. As a reward, you will receive a completely transparent list of ingredients that you can be confident are safe.

There are two ways to wash fruits and vegetables: soaking and direct application by repeatedly spraying and rubbing the affected object. I prefer the first one. Why?

Soaking is a process that occurs without your direct participation, which is not a dream for a lazy person. The second method is optimal if you need to wash a couple of apples or pears. Then your efforts to prepare the bath will not be worth it. But, again, spraying will not work if it is a bunch of grapes or a handful of berries. So I vote for baths.

It should immediately be noted that washing fruits and vegetables significantly reduces their shelf life. So don’t be lazy, wash them immediately before use. Otherwise, they need to be completely dried, then moved to the refrigerator, but they should not be tested for a week's strength.

The active ingredients to destroy anything and everything that our body should not consume are vinegar, salt and citric acid. Let's leave the soda in reserve.

Vinegar- a cheap, easily accessible and safe ingredient, - contains acetic acid, which is responsible for the destruction of bacteria, mold and wax breakdown. According to the manufacturers, it is capable of destroying 98 percent of bacteria.

Lemon contains citric acid, its slight drawback is that it is not sold with a mark on the percentage of this very acid, so doubts always remain. But it comes in handy when vinegar, due to its specific smell, is undesirable.

Salt well known to us as a preservative. And she would not have achieved this position if her participation in the destruction of bacteria was insignificant, would it?

Any of the options below can be used as a bath or as a spray bottle filler. In the second case, the exposure time is 20–30 seconds. After any treatment, fruits and vegetables should be rinsed under cool water.

200 ml water
70 ml vinegar (4.5 tbsp)
Soaking time varies from 10 to 20 minutes. It wouldn't hurt to stir them a couple of times.

200 ml water
30–40 g salt
Soaking time 10–15 minutes. Suitable for products that do not have thick skin, such as lettuce, greens, cabbage, etc., if the smell of vinegar bothers you.

200 ml water
Half a lemon
Soaking time is 5–15 minutes (depending on the roughness of the skin). Suitable for berries where neither the smell of vinegar nor pickling is acceptable.

Active ingredients can be combined.

Olga Nikitina

Reading time: 13 minutes

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Even children know that fruits and vegetables should always be washed before eating to remove dirt, germs and residues of the chemicals that the plants were treated with during their growth. And so that a vegetable salad or fruit dessert does not become a “springboard” to the hospital, the approach to food processing must be individual.

General rules for washing vegetables and fruits

To remove dirt and dust from vegetables and fruits, rinsing under running water is usually sufficient.

But if the product also contains harmful microorganisms, pesticides, traces of storage processing (wax and paraffin) or even “thermonuclear” chemistry used to protect plants, plain water cannot be used. Here we need heavier artillery.

Video: How to properly wash fruits and vegetables?

First of all, let's talk about the general rules for processing purchased (picked, dug up) vegetables and fruits:

• If you are confident in the purity of vegetables and fruits, since you brought them from your own garden, then you can get by with running water. For purchased ones (especially imported ones) the rules are different. First of all, we get rid of waxes and paraffin. To do this, wash fruits and vegetables in water with a separate brush, and then rinse them under the tap.
• If you bought fruits and vegetables for children, first soak the future salad or dessert in cold water (at the same time we will get rid of some of the harmful substances inside the fruit, if there are any), and then rinse it using the usual method and cut off the skin. Of course, for domestic apples this “trick” will be superfluous, but for imported glossy apples it is highly recommended.
• If you have washed fruits and vegetables, then eat them immediately or use them in jams, salads, etc. . They should not be stored for a long time after washing. Firstly, they quickly deteriorate, and secondly, they lose vitamins and other useful substances.
• When cleaning, use only stainless steel appliances.
• If there are yellow spots on vegetables (zucchini, cucumbers or potatoes), get rid of them immediately and without hesitation. Such spots are a sign of excess nitrates. You can reduce nitrate levels by soaking potatoes or carrots in salted water for a day. But along with nitrates, you will also get rid of vitamins.
• Fruits and vegetables prepared for feeding babies , it is recommended to wash with distilled water rather than running water.
• It is strictly forbidden to use dish soap or regular soap on fruits and vegetables. Chemical components can get under the skin of the fruit and cause poisoning.

Vegetable and fruit washing products – store-bought and homemade

Whoever advises you to use laundry soap - or any dishwashing detergent - to process vegetables and fruits, confirming the effectiveness with the classic “well, you see, nothing happened to me” - don’t listen! A categorical ban on these products when washing fruits! They are not rinsed out completely (even if it is a children's “ECO product”), and the components of the product are sent straight to your body along with fruits and vegetables.

What products should you use if “just rinsing” doesn’t work?

Home remedies:

• Baby soap without additives, dyes or flavors.
• Lemon juice + soda. For the “cleaning agent”, mix a spoonful of baking soda and a spoonful of lemon juice in a glass of water. Next, pour the solution into a clean bottle with a spray bottle, spray it on the fruit, wait 2-3 minutes and rinse in the usual way. After use, put the product in the refrigerator.
• Vinegar. We take the product in half with plain water, stir, wash the fruits in the solution and rinse under running tap. Helps remove wax and disinfect.
• Salt. For 1 liter of water – 4 tbsp/l of regular salt.
• Hydrogen peroxide. With its help, you will not only clean the fruit, but also disinfect it. The product is used simply: per container of water - 1 tbsp.

Professional products:

Yes, yes, there are such people. They are simply not yet firmly established in the domestic market.

The application scheme is simple and does not require unnecessary actions with soda, peroxide, etc.

So, the best are recognized...

• Bentley Organic. This composition contains natural acids (approx. - malic, lactic and citric), as well as aloe vera. High efficiency against bacteria and microbes - 100% neutralization of all “infections”.
• Safeguard Fruit Veggie Wash. This “set” of components includes: plant extracts and glycerin, emulsifiers, aloe vera, and citrus essential oils. Cleansing is 100 times more effective than ordinary water.
• Mako Clean. Similar in composition to the 1st product, but less expensive. Our domestic product with high efficiency and absolute safety.
• Eat Cleaner. An ideal product for those who like to snack on vegetables/fruits in nature. It consists of wipes with special impregnation: vegetable glycerin, natural detergent ingredients, sea salt, citric acid and sodium citrate. This is the very case when you can do without washing the fruit (just wipe it with a napkin).
• Sodasan. Special liquid “soap” for fruits and vegetables. It is applied to the fruit and then washed off with plenty of water. Contains: saponified vegetable oils, classic soda, fruit acids and grapefruit extract. The product is recommended for use on melons and watermelons.

Of course, these products are more expensive than we would like, but their consumption is very insignificant, and one bottle of the product usually lasts for a very long time.

How to wash various vegetables - instructions for the housewife

Each vegetable has its own processing method!

For example…

• White cabbage. As a rule, they don’t even wash it. Simply remove 2-3 layers of leaves from it (until clean and fresh), and then cut out the stalk. It was 20-25 years ago that children considered cabbage stalks a delicacy and waited for their mother to start “cutting” the cabbage. Today, the stalk is an unambiguous source of nitrates (it is in it that they are collected).
• Cauliflower. We clean all the darkened areas on this vegetable with a knife (or a vegetable grater), and then separate it into inflorescences and lower it into salted water for 10 minutes so that all the worms that adore cauliflower float to the surface.
• Kohlrabi rinse and remove the skin.
• Artichokes. From these vegetables, the stem is first cut off, then all damaged leaves are removed, and only after that they are washed in running water, setting aside the baskets and bases of the artichoke leaves for preparing lunch (note - the rest is not eaten).
• Roots(note – horseradish and radishes, carrots and potatoes, beets, etc.) first soak in warm water and then clean the soil with a brush. Next, rinse in warm and then in cold water, and then remove the peel.
• At the corn First we remove the leaves, and then rinse them under the tap.
• Cucumbers and tomatoes (as well as legumes, eggplants, peppers and squash) soak briefly in cold water (if you suspect nitrates, you can use salted water), then rinse under the tap.
• Asparagus Usually peeled in a wide bowl and with a sharp knife, starting from the head of the vegetable and along its base. Immediately after cleaning, rinse thoroughly under the tap.

Proper washing of fruits and berries

Even if you personally picked fruits from trees, this does not mean that you can burst them by simply rubbing them on your shirt.

The approach to fruits is no less special than to vegetables.

• Citrus. They are usually sold shiny from wax and other substances. And even after washing they remain a little sticky. Therefore, you should first scald the lemon (orange, etc.) with boiling water from a kettle, and then rinse it under the tap.
• As for pineapples , they are washed together with the leaves under the tap - cold water. Then let it dry on its own.
• Melons and watermelons, pumpkins and zucchini using a special or home remedy in the bathroom (or sink) with a brush.
• Pomegranates, pears with apples, apricots with peaches and plums Soak for a short time in cold water and rinse under the tap using the usual method.
• Grape It is recommended to place under a running shower in a bowl or colander and, dividing into clusters, rinse.
• For dried fruits Be sure to soak. But first, shower with boiling water.
• Berries, like grapes , put it in a colander in 1 layer (do not pile it in a big heap!) and leave it under the “shower” for 4-5 minutes. If there are doubts about the purity of the berries (for example, strawberries with soil on the skin or cherries that are too sticky), then put the colander with them in hot water, then in very cold water, then again in hot water and again in cold water. It would be enough.

Poorly washed greens are practically “Russian roulette”. Maybe you'll be lucky, maybe not.

Video: How to properly wash greens? Part 1

Video: How to properly wash greens? Part 2

To stay alive and healthy, remember the rules for washing greens:

• Remove the roots and the lower part of the stems (note - nitrates settle in them) and rotten parts.
• Thoroughly wash away any visible dirt under the tap.
• Now soak the greens in salt water (per 1 liter – 1 tbsp of salt) for 15 minutes. All dirt will settle at the bottom of the dish.
• Next, do not drain the water (!) , and carefully take out the greens and put them in a colander. Then we rinse it again (thoroughly!) and only then cut it into a salad.

What else do you need to remember?

1. The main danger is hidden between the leaves and at the junction of the stem with the branches (for example, helminth eggs or remains of soil with fertilizers).
2. Salad celery can be soaked in cold water for an hour and a half and then rinsed.
3. First immerse the nettle in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, and then cool it under running water.
4. We wash green salad especially thoroughly (according to statistics, they are most often “poisoned” with it). It is recommended to separate each sheet, tear off part of its base and then rinse especially thoroughly on both sides until the feeling of “slippery” disappears - that is, until it squeaks.

If you liked our article and have any thoughts on this matter, please share with us. It is very important for us to know your opinion!

The spirit of the times has become the appearance on the shelves of stores, markets and online hypermarkets of fruit and vegetable washing products. These are separate or universal products that can also be used to wash children's dishes and baby accessories. The main function of such products is to remove not only germs and dirt, but also harmful chemicals, which are often generously supplied with fruits and vegetables from stores. Buy fruit washing detergent - environmentally friendly and safe - at the Utkonos online hypermarket.

As you know, a huge amount of fruits nowadays comes from distant countries. Since they have to travel a far from short and fast journey, pesticides, which are chemical substances, are used to give them a marketable appearance. Pesticides are used even at the stage of fruit growth and sprayed on them until they ripen. They protect fruits from fungi, weeds, and harmful insects, and at the same time they are toxic and unsafe for humans.

Another reason for using such products was the use of wax to ensure that fruits and vegetables:

• had a more attractive, marketable appearance
• were not damaged during transportation
• better preserved.

Although wax is allowed as a food additive, it is still a preservative. Therefore, in order to avoid the slightest risk, especially when feeding fruits and vegetables to children, it is recommended to use products that can be used to wash not only the fruits and vegetables themselves, but also the dishes for washing fruits and vegetables. The composition of such products, which you can find in our catalog, includes natural and exclusively organic ingredients: essential oils, herbal extracts, glycerin, water, etc. The products have the property of decomposing in nature and are environmentally friendly.

Homemade cleaning products can be an excellent alternative to commercially produced ones. They will cost less and are believed to be less toxic. It is difficult to say how true this is. However, making your own cleaning products can be an excellent chemical practice, understandable to everyone and with a very specific result at the end. What is the best composition to wash the gifts of nature before eating? We will look for an answer to this question today. After all, at home you can not only do this, but also do a lot of other things that are very useful in every family.

First of all, let's talk about the main components that are used in the manufacture of cleaning products at home. And about the properties of these components. It should be noted that you can resort to making your own cleaning products only after taking all precautions. It is also necessary to ensure that there are no allergic reactions to the components of cleaning products. You should not assume that there are no allergies to natural components. The pages of the resource Kisswebpages.com outline the basic principles of making homemade cleaning products and the components from which they are made.

Baking soda. It has cleaning and deodorizing (that is, eliminating unpleasant odors) properties. Softens water, increasing the cleaning properties of soap. It is a fine powder.

Borax (borax, sodium salt of boric acid). It also has cleaning and deodorizing properties. Is an excellent disinfectant.

Soap. It is used in liquid, powder form, as well as in pieces and in the form of shavings. Maybe at home. Soap bars can be crushed for subsequent dissolution in hot water. Pay special attention to those types of soap that do not contain synthetic fragrances, dyes and other additives.

Washing (soda ash), sodium carbonate. Removes grease and stains. Has disinfectant properties and softens water.

Table vinegar (6% or 9%) or lemon juice. Removes fat.

The simplest all-purpose cleaner can be made by mixing vinegar with salt or dissolving four tablespoons of baking soda in 900 milliliters of warm water.

Now let's talk about disinfection. Disinfection refers to the removal of some of the harmful bacteria from a surface. In fact, no surface treatment can completely remove bacteria from it. Surfaces should be washed regularly with soap and hot water. Or, dissolve half a cup of borax in 3.75 liters of hot water and use this product to disinfect and deodorize surfaces. Isopropyl alcohol is also an excellent disinfectant, but use only gloves and never allow children to use it.

It's time to move from theory to practice. First, let's make a product for washing fruits and vegetables, which is very important right now, at the beginning of summer, when fresh fruits of nature begin to appear.

We need 1 glass; 1 glass of table vinegar (6% or 9%); 1 tablespoon baking soda, plus 20 drops grapefruit seed extract, which is known for its antifungal and antibacterial properties.

To prepare this remedy, mix all ingredients in a large bowl, much larger than the volume of substances used. The fact is that the chemical reaction of baking soda with vinegar will cause splashes, which can get onto surrounding surfaces if the dishes are too small.

Pour this mixture into a spray bottle. Using a spray bottle, apply it to vegetables and fruits. Leave them to sit for ten minutes and rinse off with water.

Do you agree with the idea that homemade cleaning products are less harmful? Or, in your opinion, does it make no sense to make them at home? It's easier to go to the store and buy.

In summer, the risk of intestinal disorders increases - often the cause is poorly washed vegetables and fruits.

You can wash one apple for 5 minutes, scald cucumbers with boiling water, but the most convenient way to clean food is to use environmentally friendly products specially designed for this, which will help get rid of germs quickly and effectively.

Such cleaners are available in different formats - we present an overview of the most convenient of them.

Mako Clean

This is perhaps one of the most famous brands, specializing specifically in products for washing vegetables and fruits. The Russian company MaKo offers a whole line of products in a variety of formats: sprays, concentrates, liquid products (on average from 250 rubles).

There are even napkins in compact packaging that are convenient to take with you. They contain pasteurized aloe vera juice, food grade citric, malic and lactic acids. The cost is about 65 rubles per pack of 30 pieces. The Mako Clean brand also produces an egg wash.

Bentley Organic

The English company Bentley Organic produces a liquid and spray for washing fruits and vegetables - they remove most microbes and bacteria that are found on the peel of fruits, and also rid the products of chemicals and fertilizer residues.

The composition is completely natural: water, malic, lactic, citric acids, aloe vera powder. The cost of a 500 ml bottle is about 400 rubles. Certificate - Soil association.

Sodasan

The ECOCert certified product from the German manufacturer Sodasan removes wax, agricultural chemicals and microbes. Can be used for delicate fruits and berries.

Contains organic plant soap and grapefruit extract, which has natural antiviral, antibacterial and antiseptic properties. The cost is about 400 rubles.

Nature Clean

Canadian manufacturer Nature Clean produces a hypoallergenic, eco-friendly product for washing fruits and vegetables in a convenient spray format - you just need to spray it on the fruits and then wash them. Destroys microbes, removes wax, residues of pesticides and other chemicals.

Cost - from 370 rubles. Nature Clean has another product that can be used for washing vegetables and fruits - a universal detergent composition. It is also suitable for washing dishes, laundry and cleaning surfaces. A liter bottle of this product is convenient to have at the dacha.

BioMio

A new product from the Russian manufacturer SPLAT is a line of eco-certified products for home cleaning. The company immediately released 7 eco-friendly detergents for washing dishes, vegetables and fruits, based on cotton extract and silver ions.

Six products with scents based on natural essential oils (mandarin, mint, verbena, lavender, geranium, rosewood), and one unscented with clinically proven hypoallergenic properties. BioMio products are certified "Leaf of Life".