Nutriciologist told us which foods should be washed before cooking and which should not be washed

Nutritionist, specialist in fitness nutrition and healthy lifestyle, FPA expert

Nutrition must meet several mandatory criteria. Safety is one of them. Unfortunately, many people make mistakes when preparing food for consumption or cooking. For example, they forget to wash or, conversely, process when they should not.

What foods should be washed?

An important rule concerning all products – do not use gels and detergents, it is dangerous for the body.

Vegetables and fruits

It seems that everyone knows this simple rule, but most people make mistakes. For example, just rinse with water. Sometimes this may not be enough, because plant debris and sand require special attention. With strong impurities, a sponge will be needed to help get rid of them.

By the way, bananas and citrus fruits also need to be washed. These fruits are usually eaten without peel, so many people skip this stage. But before you get to the pulp, you will have to clean the fruit from the dirty shell. Hands after this will not be called clean.

浆果

With them it is worth being careful not to crumple. Start with soaking in a container so that the leaves and other debris had the opportunity to float. After taking a colander and rinse the berries with water, picking them.

Root vegetables

Potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables should be thoroughly cleaned. To do this, it is better to use a special brush. It will help to clean vegetables without damaging the skin.

Watermelons and melons

Do not think that if you do not eat the rind, then you do not need to wash the product. These fruits ripen on the ground, then they are transported. Therefore, be sure to wash them under hot water, using a brush.

Eggs

Before cooking, wash eggs with water to remove surface contaminants and avoid their ingestion. Be sure to pay attention to the integrity of the shell, so that there are no cracks.

Cereals with visible contaminants

Buckwheat, barley and other cereals need to be washed before cooking. This will help get rid of small particles and dust.

Dried fruits

Very often a lot of dirt and debris accumulates on them, so it is necessary to rinse them or soak them in water before consumption.

What foods don’t need to be washed?

Meat and poultry

Many people before cooking dishes from meat and poultry, they wash them, believing that this contributes to the sanitization of the product. In fact, it is not worth doing so.

The reason is that such actions lead to the spread of harmful bacteria on kitchen surfaces and in the sink, and some of them remain even after washing.

In order to be sure of the safety of a cooked dish, it is necessary to bring pieces of meat, poultry and fish to full readiness. The temperature and degree of frying are the main rule.

The exception is noticeable impurities or splinters, which can be caught if you bought the meat at the market and it was chopped in front of you.

In addition, it is important to make sure that raw foods do not come into contact with cooked foods and to use separate boards and knives for them.

Certain types of cereals

Cereals such as oatmeal, semolina and bulgur absorb water quickly, which means you can’t wash them. Just follow one rule: before buying the package, study the package for the presence of all kinds of impurities, they should not be. Such a product will speak about the bad work of the production equipment.

Pasta

They also do not need to be washed, so you can immediately proceed to cooking. Otherwise, together with water, you can wash out the useful properties of products. This will be reflected in the taste.