Why You Should Wash Your Strawberries In Salt Water? “To avoid ingesting any of these potentially harmful components, it is very important to wash your strawberries before consuming them.” To remove dirt, pesticides, and bacteria, soaking strawberries in a vinegar solution or a saltwater bath will ensure they’re clean and safe to eat.
There’s a video making the rounds on the internet that may have you rethinking your summer strawberry addiction. You’ve been warned.
TikTok and other social media outlets have been flooded with videos of people putting their strawberries in salty water. What happens next in the videos is alarming: tiny larvae emerge from the otherwise unblemished fruit.
How To Wash Your Strawberries In Salted Water
Wherever your strawberries come from — the farmers market, a grocery chain, or your garden proper cleaning matters.
Whether you’re worried about bugs or not, washing your strawberries is always a good idea. Those beautiful red berries are not easy to grow and farmers tend to rely on pesticides and soil fumigants to try and ward off bugs. Unfortunately, those chemicals aren’t great to eat, which is why you should wash your berries before eating them.
Many people rinse their fruit under the tap before taking a bite. However, to ensure that the strawberries are also clean inside will take a little more effort.
To remove worms from fruit, fill a bowl with water and add salt to it. When the salt has dissolved, dip the strawberries in the water. Then let the fruit soak for a few minutes to half an hour. Worms and other small insects crawl out of the strawberries into the salt bath.
While rinsing strawberries with salt water is an easy, and it an effective cleaning method, you may be concerned that salt water alone won’t rinse the pesticides off conventional (non-organic) fruit. Never fear: vinegar can help rinse off pesticide residue as well as dirt or bacteria.
Pour three cups of cold water and a cup of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar into a bowl, then submerge your strawberries for five to 20 minutes. Thoroughly rinse the strawberries with cold tap water and drain them to keep them from tasting acidic.
