Kale washed with a fruit and vegetable wash. Upper part (darker green) was washed and lower part (lighter green) was not and still has a whitish film
Years ago, there was lots of discussion about how to properly clean the pesticide residues off of non-organic fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable washes were popular and it was easy to find them at health food stores. A few weeks ago at Natural Products Expo West, I came across a company, Environne, selling a fruit and vegetable wash. I realized that I had gotten into the habit of washing my produce with water only. The founder of Environne, Diane, said that most of the people she talked to at the show said that they do the same.
I made kale chips yesterday morning and the only kind of lacinato kale I could find was not organic, so it was the perfect opportunity to try the sample I had picked up at Expo West. Kale is a vegetable that tends to be higher in pesticide residues. I filled a pot of water, added the fruit and vegetable wash, put the kale leaves in as deep as I could without bending them, and let them soak for a few minutes. The leaves weren’t fully submerged because the pot wasn’t deep enough. To my surprise, after rinsing, I could see which part of the leaf had been washed and which hadn’t (see the picture above).
The founder of the company also sent me independent lab results showing that while water can help remove pesticide residues, their fruit and vegetable wash can remove more of them, especially the chemicals which are predominantly oil-based. I’m glad that I came across their booth at the Expo and will start using it regularly. There are recipes for homemade washes–Dr. Oz featured one on his show months ago, but I like the convenience of this ready-made product. Also, some homemade washes like Dr. Oz’s recipe calls for vinegar and baking soda–I would imagine it would be difficult to wash the vinegar out of strawberries and other delicate, porous produce.
