Kitchen Kapers: DIY Fruit & Veggie Wash
This DIY Fruit and Veggie Wash is a simple way to naturally (and inexpensively) clean your fruit and vegetables. Just one simple ingredient!
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How to Make DIY Fruit & Veggie Wash
A simple 1 ingredient cleaner!
I have been using this simple 1-ingredient cleaning method to wash my fruit and vegetables for years. It’s as easy as filling a sink with water and vinegar, then adding your fresh produce to soak. Inexpensive, easy and effective!
How do I know my fruit and vegetables are clean?
All you have to do is look at the water. It’s dirty. Brownish and with pieces of wax and debris from the produce.
After soaking, why do some of my fruits and vegetables have a white layer on them?
When you get produce from the market it’s always shiny, and the vinegar from this wash dissolves most of that shiny layer, and what you are seeing is just the remnants of that.
Will my fruits and vegetables taste like vinegar?
No. If you rinse well, there is no vinegar taste. Even in the berries.
Let’s talk about berries.
You can use this cleaning method to wash berries as well. You just can’t let them soak as long as you would apples or oranges. I will only soak mine for about 5 minutes or so. Rinse well.
Fruit and Veggie Wash Tips:
- Ratio: Basic cleaning ratio of 1 cup vinegar to 4 cups water.
- Vinegar: Use regular white household vinegar.
- Soaking: You can make this wash and soak your produce in your clean kitchen sink, or feel free to use a bucket.
- Scrubbing: Feel free to lightly scrub your produce with the vinegar/water solution after it has soaked. This will get rid of any remaining wax and dirt.
- Rinsing: Make sure to rinse your produce well after soaking in the vinegar/water solution.
- Drying: After rinsing, lay your produce out to dry on a clean tea towel.
Clean. Ready to eat fruit and vegetables.
DIY Fruit and Veggie Wash
Ingredients
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 sink filled with lukewarm water
Instructions
- Make sure your sink is very clean. Or if you wish, use a large clean bucket.
- Fill a sink halfway with lukewarm water.
- Add 1 cup of white vinegar.
- Mix.
- Add your fruit. Don't over fill your sink with fruit.
- Soak for about 10 minutes (shorter for berries - about 2 - 5 minutes).
- Rinse well.
- The Result: Clean fruit.
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Here are 10+ way to use vinegar in your home– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I think I’ll do this in a cooler in my bath tub. I think it’ll be easier for me to clean/fill/drain the cooler than the sink (as silly as that sounds.) Besides I seriously don’t trust my sink because I have 3 roommates and their habits are mildly disgusting (read: my germaphobia runs rampant now.)
Do you think you could compile a list of fruits/veggies you would
-soak for longer
-soak a little bit
-swish and rinse
-rinse only before eating and
-wouldn’t wash at all?
Thanks~
Great idea! I’ll try to put something together!
Jo-Anna
Can’t wait to try this-can you wash all fruits? strawberries, blueberries? and do they have to be organic?
I use it for almost all of my veggies and fruits (and most aren’t organic). I don’t use it for strawberries and other fragile fruits like raspberries.
I am so going to do this. I have a mixture that I have been using (1 cup of vinegar to 3 cups of water in spray container)but this sounds like a way easier way to clean quantities. I use my spray on strawberries bought at the grocery store too. Just spray the berries, wait a few minutes and rinse off. Doesn’t hurt them at all. I also wash melons thoroughly with dish soap and water, then rinse well, followed by vinegar spray and fresh water rinse. After the cantelope deaths, I don’t cut into anything without a good cleaning. Thank you for the tip. Frani
Awesome tip! I’ve been looking for a good way to wash my produce without having to buy the fruit was. I love that this also helps to preserve it as well! If people are worried about their sink being unsanitary, or don’t have the time to give it a good scrub (as is usually the case with me), I’m sure using a large pot would work in a pinch. I just have to figure out the ratios to use. Maybe half a cup of vinegar for a large stock pot?
Looks like a good idea ! I remember something like this being recommended for produce bought “on the economy” in Korea in 1987.
Rice vinegar or “white vinegar” (from corn) might be good ideas to avoid the smells of apple or grape vinegar.
Asian groceries once had hard rubber brownish tubs for such washing, then pink or baby blue washing bowls, and now stainless steel basins that fit inside your sink to soak dishes or peaches.
-mfr
Looks like a good idea ! I remember something like this being recommended for produce bought “on the economy” in Korea in 1987.
Rice vinegar or “white vinegar” (from corn) might be good ideas to avoid the smells of apple or grape vinegar.
Asian groceries once had hard rubber brownish tubs for such washing, then pink or baby blue plastic washing bowls, and now stainless steel basins that fit inside your sink to soak dishes, or peaches…
-mfr
Here is my question…since the apples float, how do you soak the bit of apple that stays above the mixture?
Wondering if anyone else found this to ruin your fruits & veggies?? I’ve tried this several times and each time my fruit, even my lemons, went bad super fast!!! I was really careful to dry the fruit as well as I possibly could but still didn’t work very good. My strawberries & cherries seemed to get gross overnight. I don’t know what went wrong but Ive gone back to using my old product I get at Trader Joe’s. Any ideas how I could mess up something so easy???
I really have no idea. This has never happened to me…in fact my fruit & veggies seem to last longer!
Jo-Anna
WOW!! A lot of responses, Pinterest helped your post explode!! I wanted to add to the comments about sink cleanliness, it appeared your sink is stainless steel, which is inherently antimicrobial! All I use to wash mine is wet it, sprinkle about 1/8 c of baking soda, and wipe it all over it with a paper towel! That removes any soil (and rust from that can no one rinsed!) and then you are golden!! Thanks for the tip, I just soaked my grapes, they were on sale and I am hoping they will last a bit longer!!
Thanks for the tip! I hope this works out for you too! 😉
Jo-Anna
I have been doing this for years and have no problem. Delicate things like berries don’t need as long. Then rinse well with cool water and spread out on layers of paper towels or clean dish towels to air dry. Celery just don’t cut the ends before you soak and then rinse and cut ends. If you are worried about the sink being dirty, I have a plastic wash tub that I only use for this purpose.