For Your Information (FYI) - After that Fruit Purchase

Here's some FYIs regarding fruits that you might want to know:

1. How do I wash my fruits & vegetables?
The main issue that I just want to tackle is pesticides. Never fear, it's actually quite easy to get rid of it! You can do any of the following:
 
Tip # 1: Rub & rinse your fruits twice or three times using cold water washing.

• A 1997 study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station says that rubbing fruits helps remove more pesticide.
• 75-80% of pesticide reduces are removed by cold water washing.
• Some fruits & vegetables require two to three washings (grapes, apples, guava, plums, mangoes, peaches and pears and fruity vegetables like tomatoes, brinjal and okra).

Tip #2: Wash with 2% salt.

• Do the math! One percent salt solution means for every liter you use one gram so 2% means...
• This will remove most contact pesticide residues for surfaces of fruits and veggies!!
  

Tip #3: Wash with white vinegar and water.

• The white vinegar and water wash kills 98% of bacteria and removes pesticides.  
• Procedure
  
  1) Fill a bowl with water and add 1 teaspoon of vinegar for every liter of water in the pot or bowl.
  
  
  2) Place your fruits and veggies in the bowl.
  
  
  3) Soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
  
  
  4) Rinse with water.

Tip # 4: Pesticides can be eliminated from green leafy vegetables by washing blanching and cooking

• It's important to pre-wash before blanching. Blanching can be defined as a short treatment in hot water or steam.

Tips # 5: Peeling

Tip #6: If all else fails... Concentration, dehydration and extraction from the raw product can reduce pesticide residues.

Tip # 7: If all else REALLY fails... Dish washing liquid!

• Procedure
  
  1) Use a squirt of dish washing detergent and mix it in the bowl or pan full of water.
  
  
  2) Place your fruits in the bowl.
  
  
  3) Rub for a minute.
  
  
  4) Rinse with water.

• Based on DoctorYourSelf.com, pesticides being applied don't usually wash off during rainy season so it's really the safest to use dish washing liquid.

2. How do I get rid of the waxy coating in grapes?
Grapes usually have a waxy coating on their skin. This wax is actually created by the grapes to prevent nature loss says Sarah UmmYusuf from Nature's Nurture blog. Some grape lovers find it hard to munch on their favorite treats because of the bitter taste of the waxy coating. From here on out, I'll compile some basic ingredients you can use to make the waxy stuff disappear~

Materials:
1 Colander (Makes the work less of a hassle. I mean, can you just imagine scrubbing each of them by hand?!)
1-2 tsp. salt, cornstarch or baking soda (Any one of them does the trick.)



Procedure:
Step 1: Makes sure the grapes are moist and rinsed well (so that step 2 works).
Step 2: Add 1-2 tsps. of salt, cornstarch or baking soda for approximately 2/3 of a kilo of grapes or just eyeball it.
Step 3: Rinse it off.

Have fun trying them out... I'm sure that we've heard the old saying that goes, "One fourth of what you eat keeps you alive. The other three-fourths keep your doctor alive." which isn't what we all want, right? So let's enjoy eating healthy~

Sources:
http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/04/09/how-to-wash-grapes-the-right-way/
http://mydaysonearth.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/how-to-wash-grapes/
http://blog.melonoat.com/2010/03/how-to-wash-grapes/
http://www.ehow.com/how_8642293_remove-pesticides-grapes.html
http://www.cseindia.org/node/2681
http://goodgreenhabits.com/wash-your-fruits-veggies-with-vinegar/
http://www.doctoryourself.com/pesticides.html