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A friend, single and sovereign in the city, has gladly taken on the chore of shopping for fruits and vegetables on weekends. After learning to make a three-course Italian dinner, cooking has become his way of unwinding from the trials of the week.
With malls selling farm-fresh fruits and vegetables from most parts of the world with displays that can beat any fashion house, it's not surprising that the guys are taking to this one.
Fresh produce, quite like currency, has passed through God-knows-how-many hands. When it comes to produce, unlike currency notes, cleaning your hands as well as the produce is important because it's finally going inside your body.
Quite a few of us succumb to the temptation of biting into an apple on the way back home from the market. While it may be fun, you would have just eaten a dose of pesticides, besides certain unmentionables that have settled on the surface of the fruit during its stay in the market.
Chopping the vegetables bought from the hypermarket without washing is also common, especially because the veggies on the shelves are kept fresh with sprayed water.
Nowadays, with men diving headlong into gourmet shopping as well as cooking, Men's Health presents a simple guide to cleaning fresh produce and generally ensuring that you do a 'neat' job of the prep work.
Why must fresh produce be cleaned thoroughly?
Harmful bacteria that may live in the soil or water where produce grows may come into contact with the fruits and vegetables and contaminate them. Contamination can also happen after harvest, during storage or preparation. Eating contaminated produce (or juices made from such produce) can lead to serious infections, at times fatal.
The right ways to clean
Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots and beets
Scrub them under clean water with a firm toothbrush specially reserved for this. The brush helps you remove all traces of the mud that comes with the root vegetables. Then you can either cook them with their skins or scrape the outer fibrous layer as in the case of carrots.
Delicate herbs like coriander
Coriander is usually sold in bunches with its roots and a lot of accompanying soil. You can chop off the roots and stems before storing a bunch in airtight containers in the fridge. Due to their perishable nature, coriander leaves should be washed just before use. Take the required quantity out of the box, place it in a bowl of cold water, swish it around gently with your hands.
This action will dislodge the dirt. Change the water and repeat until the dirt is all gone. Dry these leaves with a dish towel or on a clean tissue before chopping.
Cabbage
Remove the thick fibrous outer leaves and make sure that the insides are clean. Cut the cabbage into quarters and wash under running water. If you spot any worms, soak the head in salt water or vinegar water for 15-20 minutes. To preserve its vitamin C content, cut and wash the cabbage right before cooking or eating it.
For the cousins of cabbage-cauliflower and broccoli-buy a compact head with no discolouration. If the florets are coming loose, it means the cauliflower has been sitting around for a while. Store the head in the vegetable crisper of your fridge in a paper or thick plastic bag. While preparing, cut off the surrounding leaves. Cut the florets at the base where they meet the main stem and immerse the florets in a large bowl of salted tap water. This will draw out any worms that are lodged in the crevices. Drain the florets, wipe dry and cook.
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