Wash and Store Your Vegetables Properly

Once vegetables are picked they begin to lose nutrients. While there is no way to avoid this loss, the produce you receive from New Moon will be as fresh as you can get, unless you grew it yourself! And, you can easily increase the staying power of your vegetables by storing them properly.

The key is to keep as much air away from the vegetables as possible once you get them home. To do this, simply squeeze as much air as you can out of the bag that holds the vegetables and then seal it. Try to get the bag to look like it is vacuum-packed if possible. This will double or triple the normal storage life of the vegetables.

The produce you get each week in your share box is many times cleaner than what you purchase at the supermarket, but keep in mind that nothing you receive in your box will have been washed and ready to eat. While we do hydrocool some of our field crops, this process is merely a brief soaking in clean, cool water to lower the temperature quickly and to preserve freshness. We use the same water we drink for this process and we also have out water tested for pathogens and chemicals periodically. But, you should still practice safe food handling when using organic produce.

Although washing produce with tap water is usually adequate, no washing method completely removes or kills all microbes which may be present on the produce. Since your organic produce comes from field directly to you, exposure to possible microbes is reduced. Also, part of our organic certification requires that we use safe handling procedures at the Farm and that further reduces the risks.

A few simple rules of thumb should keep you safe from any foodborne illness.

All produce, even if organically grown or from your own garden, MUST be washed in clean drinking water before being eaten.

Wash everything, even if you do not plan to eat the skin, such as bananas, melons or oranges. Germs can adhere to the surface of produce and can be passed to the flesh when cut. Don't assume that because a food is pre-packaged it's ready to eat. It is actually ready to wash.

Washing before storing produce will cause it to spoil faster. This is a big reason that we do not wash anything. It a natural protective coating that keeps in moisture and freshness. Sometimes busy people find it easier to wash several days worth of produce at one time, then refrigerate it. Just make sure that anything you wash and store is very dry before you repackage it to store it.

Temperature: All firm fruits and vegetables, such as apples, pears, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and avocados, should be washed in water between 80 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Washing in slightly warm water brings out the flavor and aroma of the fruit or vegetable you are preparing. Leafy vegetables can be washed in warm water but washing in cold tap water will help maintain crispness. Judge the temperature to use by the nature of the vegetable but if you use do warm water, remember not to get it too warm!

Spraying: The best method for washing ripe, soft, or fragile fruits such as berries is by spraying with a kitchen sink sprayer. Use a colander so you can gently turn the fruit as you spray.

Immersion: If you do not have a sink sprayer, berries and soft fruit should be placed in a wire basket or colander into a 5 to 8 quart pot of warm water. Move the basket in and out of the water several times. Change the water until the water remains clear. Do this process quickly. If the fruit absorbs too much water, it will lose flavor, texture, and aroma.

Remember that the produce you get from us is straight from the field to you. That may occasionally be a "hitchhiker" that comes along with your items.Just make sure you briefly look over the items as you are washing them. Insects, good and bad, are an integral part of an organic garden. Keep in mind that you bought organic produce so that no pesticides were used to grow it!

DO NOT wash produce with detergent or bleach solutions. Even if residues are not left on the produce, fruits and vegetables are porous and can absorb the detergent or bleach, which is not intended for use on foods. Consuming them on fruits and vegetables have the potential to make you sick.

Commercial produce sprays or washes are available in some supermarkets. Many of these products include surfactants. Surfactants are cleaning agents that attach to oil and dirt and loosen water-resistant substances for quick removal. These work with water by decreasing surface tension and creating emulsification or a lifting action. Their value, however, is dubious.

If you are using conventional vegetables, try not to store them co-mingled with your organic vegetables. You will want to remove as much of any pesticide residue as possible in conventional produce. Don’t worry if you can’t buy all organic --any vegetables are better than no vegetables at all. To clean your non-organic vegetables, soak them in a sink full of water with 4 to 8 ounces of distilled (from grain or apples ONLY) vinegar for 30 minutes.