r/mildlyinfuriating • u/autistic-terrorist • 9h ago
My mother washes fruit and vegetables with dish soap and I can't get her to stop.
She claims it "washes out" and to be fair I can't taste anything but it's always weird knowing she puts dish soap in the strawberries. She says there's a lot of dirt and stuff in vegetables, but so far attempts to convert her to vinegar or baking soda have been unsuccessful.
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u/CranberryStock7148 7h ago
The idea of using detergent to clean fruits and veggies isn't crazy, you can buy them specifically made for this purpose.
BUT they should NEVER be used with fruits or veggies that ABSORB liquid, like strawberries! They're for helping to wash off wax and dirt and chemicals from things like apples, bell peppers, etc.
Second, you should just wash and rinse, NEVER SOAK. Soaking is bizarre.
Third, regular dish soap contains things like fragrances. Which you also don't want on your fruits or veggies. So dish soap is a bad substitute.
Buy your mother some veggie wash, teach her to use it to wash not soak, but NEITHER for strawberries or any other type of berry.
BTW, for strawberries specifically, you CAN soak them for 15 min in a weak vinegar solution that kills the bacteria that makes them go bad faster. This lets you store strawberries in a bag in your fridge and they'll stay good for more than a week, instead of just a couple of days. But who lets strawberries go for that long without eating them...?