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The season of our favorite strawberries is in full swing. Fresh berries are great for making desserts and homemade jams. They can also be frozen for the winter. To start, however, you should know how to properly wash strawberries to remove bacteria, dirt, and pollen. We’ll talk about that in our article.
Why pay attention to washing strawberries?
You might ask yourself, why pay so much attention to this topic? In fact, it’s not that simple. Berries have pollen and bacteria, as well as various pathogenic organisms. Strawberries bought in stores also contain pesticides and other chemicals. Therefore it is essential to wash strawberries properly.
Method No. 1: Baking soda solution
This method is the simplest. Prepare a baking soda solution: for 1 liter of water you will need 10 g of baking soda. Place the strawberries in the resulting liquid for 10 minutes. Then let them drain in a colander and rinse under running water.
Method No. 2: Rinsing and scalding
- First, thoroughly rinse the strawberries under running water. A strong stream of water will remove pollen and bacteria.
- Then scald the strawberries with boiling water. This step will destroy possible pathogenic organisms, such as E. coli.
- Finally, soak the strawberries for 5–15 minutes in cold water. This will help definitively get rid of pesticides. Treating strawberries with water at different temperatures does not affect the taste of the berries.
Method No. 3: Salt solution
Recently the internet was flooded with a TikTok video that showed that if you soak strawberries for 30 minutes in a salt solution, small white bugs begin to crawl out of them. This phenomenon caused a false fear that all strawberries are full of these tiny organisms. However, this is not true. Small organisms that live on the surface can indeed be hidden in some fruits, but this is not the rule for all fruits.
Experts confirm that these tiny organisms do not cause any harm in our bodies and can enter it with the consumption of various types of fruit and berries. In any case you can effectively wash strawberries this way: mix water with 0.5 teaspoon of salt and stir until it dissolves. Immerse the strawberries in the solution and let stand for half an hour. Then just rinse them.
How to properly wash strawberries
It is really important during the season to know how to properly wash strawberries. This will protect you and your loved ones. Also try to choose homegrown berries. They may not always look perfect, but you can be sure they were grown without additional chemicals.
Thanks to these methods you will be sure that your strawberries are clean and safe to eat, and you can enjoy them without worry all season long.
