How to Clean Fresh Fruits

Overview

Once you pick fruit from your garden, you'll want to eat it right away, maybe even right there in the garden. Luckily, mere rinsing is effective in removing pesticides and bacteria, not to mention dirt. It's a good idea, then, to bring a bottle of water into the garden, along with paper towels. Of course, if you wait until you get to the kitchen, you can take a couple extra measures that get your fruit even cleaner. Because there is a lot of conflicting advice about how to wash fruit, make sure to use common sense and follow the studies.

Rinse Method

Step 1

Wash your hands to avoid depositing extra bacteria onto the fruit.

Step 2

Rinse the fruit for 30 seconds to 1 minute minimum. Rubbing it increases the cleaning action, especially if you use a brush on fruits that can stand up to the bristles.

Step 3

Wipe the fruit dry with a paper towel.

Vinegar Method

Step 1

Wash your hands.

Step 2

Fill a spray bottle with 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar.

Step 3

Spray the fruit with the solution so that the entire outside is coated.

Step 4

Rinse the fruit to remove the residual vinegar.

Step 5

Wipe dry with a paper towel.