Is it really necessary to wash fruits or vegetables with detergent?

[dragnlaw]

An Asian market, that both taxy and I have been to, have tons of vegies I often don't recognize.
One day I struggled to get my glasses on, then struggled to reach the top back shelf of the vegetables, there was a shape I didn't recognize. I wanted to know what it was called so I could look it up at home and decide if I wanted to try it.

It simply said "legume" (French for vegetable).

 

[Jade Emperor]

Lol
Bless

 

[blissful]

The advantage of washing your vegetables is that you get less dirt. But dirt has B12 in it, which is an advantage. So you can either eat a little dirt on your vegetables or you are forced to eat animals that eats dirt for you, to get your b12. Cows can help you with that. Fish, poultry, venison, lots of choices.

 

[GinnyPNW]

I was walking to the local park by myself at age five. It was a good, long walk. I remember I was five because, one day a man stopped at the curb and asked me directions. I told him to wait there, because there was usually a motorcycle cop who came by at that time and he could ask the cop. That wasn't as clever as my mum thought it was. There really was a motorcycle cop at that corner most days at that time. I was trying to be helpful. But, when he asked me to look at his map and show him, I told him I was only five and didn't know how to read a map. It was when he started to insist that I lean into the car and look at the map that I decided he was a creep and I left immediately. After that, my worry wart mum was less worried about me walking places by myself. Back then, the parents decided if they thought the kid was old enough to go somewhere alone.

I don't think my mom thought too much about it...she walked everywhere so why shouldn't I do the same. When I was young, I struggled to keep up with her. I still remember the side-aches I got. Few households had more than 1 car, IF any! Everyone walked.

 

[jennyema]

An Asian market, that both taxy and I have been to, have tons of vegies I often don't recognize.
One day I struggled to get my glasses on, then struggled to reach the top back shelf of the vegetables, there was a shape I didn't recognize. I wanted to know what it was called so I could look it up at home and decide if I wanted to try it.

It simply said "legume" (French for vegetable).

Welcome to asian translations ... I go to asian markets all the time and sometimes the translation is "green vegetable" and sometimes with an Engrish translation

 

[Jade Emperor]

Same here. One car family (which dad drove to work).
We walked everywhere, and I still do if I can.

 

[Jade Emperor]

Welcome to asian translations ...

Love it all.
Went to a very nice Asian restaurant recently and they had fish on the menu.
Literally.
The menu read “fish”.
Just…fish.

 

[Jade Emperor]

Luckily, I speak some Mandarin so I could determine that they were serving perch.

 

[taxlady]

But on-topic, I wash my vegetables and herbs in running water, but never with any kind of detergent. The reason I wash potatoes that have dirt on them, even if I am going to peel them is that the dirt will get onto the peeled surface of the potato and make them look dirty anyway.

For me, it depends on mood. When the potatoes are very dirty, I scrub them and then peel them or I peel them and then rinse them.

 

[Kathleen]

I rinse my peeled veggies. I'll scrub veggies when I will use the peel.

I was sent walking to school alone 8 blocks away when I was 5. I had one creepy encounter, but it was simply the neighborhood alcoholic. He asked if he could brush my hair. I said no and ran home to tell Momma. She set him so straight that the bottle would not "confuse" him again.

 

[Badjak]

Same here, we walked or cycled everywhere
School swimming (we were 7 or so) was all kids on bicycles with teacher & volunteer parents at front and back and up to the local pool

My dad was a good cook, but didn't use recipes. If you wanted to know how to cook, you had to go stand next to him and ask.
It's more or less how I cook, although I do use recipes (but mainly for inspiration).

On topic, I wipe most stuff from my own garden to get the dirt off.
And that's it.
I'm a bit more careful with bought stuff

 

[Meryl]

Oh yes, we all walked to school alone from when we were at Primary School, from about the age of 7, it was normal in those days, well at least it was in London. The school was just down the road, even though once when I was 10, I got knocked down by a car, crossing the road right in front of the school. Nothing serious, just a few switches on my upper lip, as I fell with my face on the metal bumper, in those days - no plastic! The funny thing about this is that my friend's mum had accompanied us and was on the other side of the road when it happened, seeing us off.

 

[White Rook]

Y'll can do what you want to. As for me, I, am washing my fruit. With so much being imported. One does not know, what is on the food you eat.

 

[Linda0818]

Y'll can do what you want to. As for me, I, am washing my fruit. With so much being imported. One does not know, what is on the food you eat.

I agree. I wash my fruits and vegetables. But never once did I think to use detergent.

I don't know if this has been mentioned in this particular thread, but has anyone seen those videos where you place strawberries into a bowl of water mixed with baking soda? Supposedly a bunch of little bugs (including nearly microscopic worms) come out of the berries. I've never tried it myself, because I'm a bit of a skeptic. Usually when I see these videos, there are indeed a bunch of little black specs floating in the water. But I naturally assumed those are seeds and/or specs of dirt.

I did once try the "strawberries in salt water" thing several years ago, which is also supposed to bring all the little bugs out, but I never saw any.

I realize bugs in produce is (are?) going to happen and it does not bother me. But a whole bowl full of squiggly little worms???