Cecil admonishes us to wash our veggies (not vegetarians, BTW, 'though some may need it) here.
Wash how? With what? Does it really do any good? Without some type of soap or neutralizing agent, won’t the worm eggs/larvae survive and the pesticides remain?
(Apologies if this has been addressed before; an “all date” search of the boards turned up no threads directly related to this; a search of the SD archive was similarly negative.)
Wash 'em in water plus whatever your little heart desires (and your little wallet can afford).
As the Shadow of God on Earth, the Master of the Masters of the Universe, pious, beneficent, and ancient, the One Who Knows All, to whom Heaven has given scintillating wit beyond that possessed by mere mortals[sup]1[/sup], the Perfect Master Cecil pointed out in Do laundry balls really work?, there is a certain amount of “mechanical action” (i.e., rubbing) inherent in stuff being washed. The worm eggs (and other nasties) are often (although not entirely) loosely embedded in gunk on the surfaces of vegetables, not clinging leech-like[sup]2[/sup] to the rinds themselves.
As for the evulll pesticide residues, it’s worth pointing out that:
[list=1]
[li]Unwashed vegetables seldom have harmful amounts of pesticide residues on them[/li][li]Organic vegetables do not have a lower level of residues, and sometimes not even different residues (and those that are – oy! Lead arsenate is a “natural” pesticide, and by virtue of being “natural” it must be harmless to humans and non-persistent, right? :rolleyes: )[/li][li]Hi, Opal![/li][li]You can use proprietary washing products that are on the market, if you like (and, as I said, if you can afford them). But, they don’t appear to be more effective in studies than good old dihydrogen monoxide.[/li][/list=1]
[sup]1[/sup][sub]Is my nose brown enough yet?[/sub]
[sup]2[/sup][sub]Leeches, however, are not a problem that you’re likely to have with vegetables.[/sub]
Not only is your nose brown, it’s in danger of being listed here.
You’re right about the largely psychological interaction between the tiny amounts of farmer-applied pesticide residue on veggies (again, NOT vegetarians!) and human illness as well as between “natural” vs. “artificial” biocides. I just figured really fastidious folks would worry about worms AND biocide residue.
Hi, Opal!
Which, I suppose, leads us to Fit, the fruit and vegetable wash that we’ve all likely seen on TV lately. I haven’t tried it myself, but they claim it cleans much more thoroughly than water and mechanical action. What the heck, maybe I’ll pick some up next time I’m at the store and give it a try.
zucchini… well, ok if you’re in to that
dildo… I can think of better places to put it.
an axe handle… oh, dear… ouch!
Bump
The Christian Science Monitor on veggie washing.
Among the conclusions: Fit’s good stuff, as good or better than industrial chlorine at killing bacteria. By the time it’s done some of its job, however, you may have ruined the produce.