Fruits and vegetables, these are something that we use daily and regularly in our body but we all are aware as well that now-a-days the fruits and vegetables that we are using are not completely natural.
Pesticides are added to them for their proper growth and also to save their crops from getting destroyed.
But the most important fact is that the pesticides that are used in the growing procedure can also be present in your food items when you buy them.
Even some medicines are also used for keeping them fresh which can also be present on them. So, you need to remove tpesticides from fruits before you eat.
This is because these pesticides are good for your fruits and vegetables but they are not good for you. These pesticides can cause you very harmful diseases.
So, you need to get rid of these pesticides from your food items before you eat them. There are various ways of getting rid of them which are as follows:
Table of Contents
How To Remove Pesticides From Fruits And Vegetables?
1.Organic Fruits And Vegetables
Try to buy organic fruits and vegetables. Although organic fruits and vegetables are more expensive than normal ones but organic fruits and vegetables are grown without using pesticides.So, if you will buy them then you have no need to worry about whether they are free from pesticides or not.
2.Keep Knowledge Of The Fruits And Vegetables Which Have More Chances Of Higher Residue Of Pesticide
Yes, this is another way of keeping yourself safe from the residue of pesticides. You need to keep the knowledge of fruits and vegetables which have higher pesticide residue and which have lower.
Food items like peaches, cherries, greens, apples, strawberries, these have higher pesticide residue.
So, either you can buy these products organic and other like watermelon, bananas, avocados, corn, broccoli which have lesser chances of having pesticide residue.
These can be bought organic or you can take special care while washing or taking procedure for getting rid of pesticide residue while using food items which have higher chances of having pesticide residue.
3.Washing
Washing is the most known, easiest and a very good way for getting rid of these pesticides from your food items. About 75-80 percent of pesticides are removed from the surface of fruits with the simple washing of cold water.
But if you add 2% of salt in the water then the percentage of removal of pesticides from the surface can be increased. Various food items which can be cleaned with the normal water are grapes, pears, peaches, mangoes, brinjal, tomatoes and various others.
You need to wash them two to three times. But for food items like spinach that is leafy food items need to be washed carefully and thoroughly.
However, the remaining pesticides are removed when you cook them but you need to thoroughly wash them.If mild dish wash is available then you can also use wild dish wash for washing your fruits and vegetables.
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4.Blanching
It is a treatment of providing steam or hot water to the fruits and vegetables. As hot water or steam is really helpful in getting rid of pesticides from the surface.
But it does not mean that you will directly keep food items under this treatment. You also need to first thoroughly wash them from cold or normal water and then keep them under this treatment for the best results.
5.Vinegar And Water Mixture
Vinegar and water are something that are easily available in your kitchen. You just need to mix 1 part of vinegar and 5 parts of water.
Keep this mixture in a bowl in your kitchen and every time before taking use of any fruit or vegetable, do not forget to dip them for about an hour in this mixture.
If you keep dipped your fruits and vegetables in this mixture for about an hour then this mixture is really helpful for removing almost all residue from your fruits and vegetables.
6.A Magical Spray
Prepare a spray by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of baking soda in 1 cup of water. Mix them well and pour this mixture in a spray bottle.
Now before using any fruit or vegetable, spray this mixture on them. Keep the food item for 5 to 10 minutes and then thoroughly wash them. This spray is really helpful for getting complete rid of these pesticides
7.Commercial Produce Wash
You can wash your fruits and vegetables with commercial produce wash which is easily available in any grocery store.
This solution is completely safe to be used for food items and is really very effective for getting rid of pesticide residue.
8.Peeling
As the pesticides are in the contact of surface, if you will peel out the vegetables or fruits then obviously you will get rid of them from y
9.Cooking
Cooking means to provide heat to the food items and this heating is really in destroying the residues of the pesticides.
10.Animal Products
Animal products are usually present in the form of pesticides in food items as these are also spread with pesticides on crops and these animal products can be removed with the help of frying, baking or pressure cooking.
11.Dairy Products
If dairy product like milk is boiled then this heating is really helpful in getting rid of all the things that are harmful for your body.
12.Vegetable Oils
If you heat the vegetable oils then you can easily get rid of pesticides that are present in them.
13.Shop At Local Farmers
You can also shop from local farmers as local farmers use less pesticides, so your fruits and vegetables will be having less pesticides on their surface.
14.Grow Your Own Fruits And Vegetables
You can also grow your own fruits and vegetables without using pesticides. This is the best way of saving yourself from consuming pesticide residue.
These are the various ways with the help of which you can get rid of the pesticides that are present on the surface of your food items.
But never forget to thoroughly wash the food items before using them. You can use any of the above methods but do not to wash them.
