How to Wash Produce [Video]

Let’s face it — fruits and vegetables are dirty. Between harvesting, handling, and packaging, they build up a lot of crud and critters (yikes!) In fact, the Environmental Working Group releases an annual “Dirty Dozen” list with the 12 fruits and veggies found most contaminated with pesticides according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The bottom line is all produce needs to be washed at home before being eaten or cooked to remove dirt, bacteria, small bugs, and lingering residual pesticides, and a few seconds under the faucet doesn’t cut it. Skipping out on this critical step is potentially dangerous, as some bacteria can lead to serious food-borne illnesses. So, let’s get back to basics and talk about how to wash your produce so it’s really clean.

We’ve all lived through a mass recall of store-bought leafy greens or seen a headline of an outbreak of leafy green-related food …