Trash the salad?

[Bilby]

You know some lettuces cook up really well (as in grill or pan fry), so you could have gone down that path. Likewise lettuce soup - not quite boiled salad but not far off. Some salad ingredients obviously would have to go but not necessarily everything.

 

[pacanis]

I've never seen RR wash her veggies aside from a quick rinse or wiping off mushrooms with a damp towel. She says she always washes them when she gets back from the store so they are ready to go. She also said something about prepackaged veggies already being washed. At least that's how washing veggies on her 30 minute meals show are handled.

Enjoy your double salad today, YT!
And if you start tossing the salad with your hands, you won't run into this problem again. Just wash your hands first.... or rinse them... whatever

 

[Bilby]

If you wash your veges when you stick em in the fridge, you start to lose the nutrients in them and they are also likely to perish quicker.

 

[pacanis]

If you wash your veges when you stick em in the fridge, you start to lose the nutrients in them and they are also likely to perish quicker.

Why would that be?
Here in the US, at least at the stores around me, it is a regular thing to have sprinklers above much of the produce spraying it down several times/day. In effect it is kept cold and wet. Although with much more air circulation that the typical refrigerator.... Not that I would ever wash my veggies before putting them away. I was just saying before that you may not see RR wash her veggies that well because that's what she says she does with them. And is one of her time savers.
Of course none of this has anything to do with YT's situation but it's interesting to see how other people handle their produce before it hits the plate.

 

[Bilby]

Can't answer your question Pacanis. Never pondered what "they" tell me about the storage of veges. Just follow. Baa Baa!!! I only heard it again on the radio or tv in the past couple of days. If I remember where, I'll post again but I have heard/read it several times.

The spraying of the fruit and veges in stores is not always a good thing either as they spray indescriminately and the water actually ruins the produce. Somethings are meant to be stored dried. It's as annoying as the shops cutting the tops of spring onions off. They perish quicker too.

Re RR, I have never seen any tv chef/cook wash the veges before using them except for Jamie Oliver in the Jamie at Home series.

 

[GotGarlic]

Can't answer your question Pacanis. Never pondered what "they" tell me about the storage of veges. Just follow. Baa Baa!!! I only heard it again on the radio or tv in the past couple of days. If I remember where, I'll post again but I have heard/read it several times.

"They" repeat that salads with mayo in them are more perishable than other foods, but that's not true, either. Just to add to the controversy

The spraying of the fruit and veges in stores is not always a good thing either as they spray indescriminately and the water actually ruins the produce. Somethings are meant to be stored dried. It's as annoying as the shops cutting the tops of spring onions off. They perish quicker too.

The cause of wilting in most fresh veggies is a lack of moisture, which is why they're sprayed with water in grocery stores. It's also why fridge manufacturers make fridges with a produce drawer that can be set for high humidity - it keeps them fresher longer. The ones that should stay dry, like onions and potatoes, are in separate bins that aren't sprayed.

Re RR, I have never seen any tv chef/cook wash the veges before using them except for Jamie Oliver in the Jamie at Home series.

I've seen them rinse or brush mushrooms, but that's about it.

YT, sorry about your salad. Depending on the ingredients, you might have been able to save it. Sauteed spinach with oil and vinegar is pretty good, for example

 

[Bilby]

"They" repeat that salads with mayo in them are more perishable than other foods, but that's not true, either. Just to add to the controversy

Not heard that one at all!! But then I guess the "they" I am referring to are probably nutritionists who tend not to acknowledge that people use mayo (except on the side of course) and would never pre-dress a salad. "Our" "they" is probably a bit different from "your" "they".

The cause of wilting in most fresh veggies is a lack of moisture, which is why they're sprayed with water in grocery stores. It's also why fridge manufacturers make fridges with a produce drawer that can be set for high humidity - it keeps them fresher longer. The ones that should stay dry, like onions and potatoes, are in separate bins that aren't sprayed.

Not here they aren't. You will find as I said, that it is indescriminate. Even when auto sprayers are installed there is still some idiot with a spray bottle.

 

[pacanis]

I imagine most TV chefs have their crews prepare the veggies the way they see fit. And they probably don't want to tell you their methods just to avoid any controversy. RR is the only one I've seen tell you what she does with them, but she doesn't tell you how she washes them, only that hse does before they are put away.
And I've never seen anyone in "real life" even rinse an apple. People I've known have only gone to the extent of polishing it on their shirt They may have been adding more contaminants than they were getting rid of

 

[GB]

I rinse all apples I buy. the exception is when I am picking it right off the tree. that is the only time I use the polish method.

 

[pacanis]

I'm sure that's probably the smart thing to do, I've just never seen anyone do it in my circle. I'll have to ask this apple farmer I know what he does with them for his own consumption. He would obviously know exactly what he's spraying them with. I usually see him or his wife every few weeks. I'll report back when I find out just in case anyone is interested.

 

[sage™]

I've seen Rachel (several times) break off stalks of celery and just wipe them down with a cloth..and with the same dirty spot on the cloth. Actually just spreading the dirt all over the celery. You could see the dirt on the base of the celery. I know they have staff to wash the fruits and veggies, but sometimes they don't.
I wash all fruits and vegs under running water, rubbing or scrubbing or blasting with my sprayer..lol. Even watermelon.

 

[GB]

My reason for washing store bought is more for knocking off and solid dirt, bugs, or anything else like that.

 

[pacanis]

I don't use much celery, but that is one dirt holding veggie. Even I wash that one well.

 

[Callisto in NC]

If the salad is contaminated then washing will not do anything other than spread the contamination unless you use soap. Somehow soapy salad just does not sounds tasty

We use the pesticide wash that you get in the produce section and it kills everything including anything that might possibly maybe come from cross contamination in the kitchen.

 

[GB]

I guess what I should have said was rinsing under water only. You have a point about products made specifically to wash produce.

 

[Callisto in NC]

Devil's advocate question:
How do we know that of any produce we buy? Has it been contaminated or not before we use it for the first time? I just had tomatoes tonight on my tacos, so they were eaten uncooked. I did not use soap to wash them off, a quick rinse under cold water was all they received.
So, would I have been better off not rinsing them at all, just in case?
At least in YT's case it was "fresh" uncooked chicken as the possible contaminant. Which is probably why he asked in the first place...

Enquiring minds want to know

I'll one up your "devil's advocate" ~ how does anyone know that Sally Shopper doesn't go from the meat department, get crap on her hands, and then touch half the barrel of lettuce heads or tomatoes finding her perfect one? Not many stores around here have sanitizer next to the meat department.

 

[GB]

I am sure that does happen Callisto. There are many other nasty things that happen too, like Sally picks out some chicken then when in the soda isle decided she does not want it anymore. She is lazy and decided to just place it next to the Pepsi instead of walking it back to the cooler. Hours pass and then the store employee who is paid minimum wage and could care less puts the package back in the cooler.

 

[Wart]

You know some lettuces cook up really well (as in grill or pan fry), so you could have gone down that path. Likewise lettuce soup - not quite boiled salad but not far off.

That's what I was thinking, an opportunity to try Fried or Stewed Salad. Just heat to 165 f for 15 seconds or more.

About cleaning, all my vegetables, fresh herbs, etc, go into a salt water bath and are then thoroughly rinsed. When I first started bathing the greens to kill and remove parasites I was surprised? Shocked? at how brown the water was (at times). Also I seem to have gotten more parasites years ago. That makes me wonder about the pesticides used today. Seems to me the closer to 'organically grown' you get the more there is a need for the salt bath.

About fruit, I look at apples, plumbs, grapes, tomatoes, and so forth, and have the compulsion to run them through a soap bath. Some day that feeling will grab hold of me and I'll actually use soap and water.

The 'they" "wash" apples (and other fruit) then give them a dose of wax to make 'them' pretty. Problem is if the fruit isn't completely clean before waxing it seems to me the wax would seal in any nastiness.

I think I'll stop before I tangent deeper into the pesticide thing.

Yes, I AM O.C.

 

[Wart]

I'll one up your "devil's advocate" ~ how does anyone know that Sally Shopper doesn't go from the meat department, get crap on her hands, and then touch half the barrel of lettuce heads or tomatoes finding her perfect one? Not many stores around here have sanitizer next to the meat department.

Thanks, I need to see this.

I'll up it even further.

How do you know ANY customer in ANY store washed their hands after doing their toilet paper work and touching ANYTHING?

You may think it was bad chicken that upset your tummy, in theory ot could have been from something somebody else touched at Macy's.

Not a happy thought.

 

[Callisto in NC]

Thanks, I need to see this.

I'll up it even further.

How do you know ANY customer in ANY store washed their hands after doing their toilet paper work and touching ANYTHING?

You may think it was bad chicken that upset your tummy, in theory it could have been from something somebody else touched at Macy's.

Not a happy thought.

Well, I'm all good because I only go to one store, the grocery. It's like taking a dog to the vet to get me to go shopping outside of grocery and household needs.

I'm a NASCAR fan, go to NASCAR races. I camp out at NASCAR races. I worked on a construction site where all you get is a big blue box. I am the opposite of a germaphobe. If I was, I'd never enjoy any of the things I do.