Some food experts recommend washing blueberries in diluted vinegar or salt to kill off mold and bacteria and prolong their shelf life.
How to Wash Blueberries: Place berries in a colander (strainer) and dip the colander in a larger bowl of cold water. (Because blueberries are so delicate, running them under the water may cause breakage) Swish the berries around and drip dry! REMEMBER- Make sure to rinse berries 'as you go'…
It's simple really: just give them a quick bath in a vinegar and water solution the moment you get them home, dry them, and place them in a clean container lined with paper towels. The vinegar helps to kill any mold that could cause them to spoil, and this method can make them last as long as 10 days in our house!
Use bicarbonate of soda(also known as bicarb and baking soda) to clean your fruits and vegetables. Add 1 teaspoon of bicarb to 2 cups of water and soak for 15 minutes. Rise with water afterwards. Soak in vinegar(any type) and water for 20 minutes.
Do you wash strawberries with salt or vinegar? You can wash strawberries with both, though neither are necessary—water works just fine! If you want to wash with salt though, you can dissolve one teaspoon in a couple of cups of warm water.
In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups water and 1 cup white vinegar. Immerse your berries in the water and gently stir in order to wash. Let the berries soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the berries in a colander and rinse under running water.
Even organic berries should be washed before eating; while there may not be chemicals to rinse off, there's still dirt and other grime to be cleaned off before you use the berries for anything.
The takeaway: Since organic produce isn't any more or less likely than conventional to carry a scary disease, and since even organic fruits and veggies might contain traces of pesticides on their skins, always wash it, just like you would any other produce.
Vinegar Bath to Kill Mold
Discard any berries that show even a bit of mold. Combine 3 cups cold water and 1 cup white vinegar in a large bowl or salad spinner. Immerse berries and swish around for about a minute. Drain berries, then rinse with clean, cold water until any trace of vinegar aroma or taste is gone.
Cleaning blueberries before you eat them is an important way to remove mold and bacteria as well as pesticides. The easiest way to wash them off is by rinsing them under a gentle stream of cold water, although you can use vinegar for extra cleaning power.
Yes! Blueberries (as well as other types of fruits and berries) need to be washed to rid them of bacteria, dirt, small bugs and pesticides. Normally, we would advise not to wash berries until you're ready to eat them, to avoid the extra moisture that causes spoilage.
A quick bath in hot water will also work to destroy bacteria and mold spores. Dunk your berries in water between 120°F and 140°F for approximately 30 seconds. Dry and store them in the same way you would after a vinegar wash.
Kay Stevens, author of Wild Season: Gathering and Cooking Wild Plants of the Great Plains, recommends soaking the mulberries for three minutes in salt water — ¼ cup salt to a gallon of water — draining the salt water and then gently rinsing.
The US Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and other scientists agree: use a cold water soak with baking soda to effectively help remove dirt, chemical residue, and other unwanted materials from your fresh vegetables and fruits.
Don't rinse unless you have to!
The absolute best way to keep berries fresh is to avoid rinsing them until you're ready to eat them.
Eating unwashed produce may cause you to ingest harmful bacteria, which may be present in the soil, or pesticides applied to produce in the fields. What's more, you might even end up eating bugs that were harvested along with the produce.
Commercially frozen blueberries have been washed—use them directly from the bag. Refrigerate thawed blueberries and use within 3 days. Use any frozen blueberries within one year of purchase.
Place blueberries in kitchen colander. Run cool water over the blueberries to get them wet. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda over the wet blueberries. Use your hands to gently distribute the baking soda throughout the blueberries, and continue to agitate for 30-45 seconds.
It is common for produce to go through a postharvest rinse prior to arriving at the grocery store. Produce is washed in order to clean the produce, and to remove any microbial contaminants (e.g., Listeria, Salmonella, E. Coli 0157:H7).
Soak in salt water
One of the best ways to wash fruits and vegetables to help avoid bugs and pesticides is by soaking them in salt water. We recommend using Himalayan salt or sea salt and soaking your produce for at least 20 minutes before rinsing off with running water. Then they're clean and ready to eat!
Baking soda, whose alkalinity helps to neutralize many common acidic pesticides, is generally thought to be the most effective produce wash.
Clean fruits and vegetables before eating, cutting, or cooking, unless the package says the contents have been washed. Wash or scrub fruits and vegetables under running water—even if you do not plan to eat the peel. Germs on the peel or skin can get inside fruits and vegetables when you cut them.
Make sure to rinse all your fruits and veggies well after soaking. My homemade fruit and veggie soak has salt and vinegar in it as natural cleaning agents. So you will want to rinse those off once they are done killing mold, washing away dirt and making your produce squeaky clean.
Add 1 tsp. of baking soda to 4 cups of water, and soak your strawberries in a large bowl for five minutes. Then, rinse your strawberries with cold running water and pat them dry. Baking soda helps remove dirt, traces of pesticides, and more from fresh fruits and vegetables.