Cleaning is different from cleaning. In fact, whether to wash food, why to wash it and how to wash it are all knowledge and an important step to ensure food safety, and should not be treated rashly.

The following are some cleaning suggestions for common foods.

Soaking rice can remove arsenic.

Natural water contains arsenic more or less, and rice grows in paddy fields and can be rich in arsenic, so there is arsenic in the rice we eat every day. If rice meets the safety standards, there is no need to worry too much about the harm of arsenic. Give it a quick rinse. But if you are worried about arsenic, you can further reduce the risk by soaking.

Some researchers have done experiments and found that soaking rice in five times the volume of water overnight and then washing can reduce arsenic by 80%. Soaking will remove some starch from rice, but it will not cause the loss of folic acid, iron, nicotinic acid, thiamine and other nutrients. However, it should be noted that in the subsequent cleaning process, do not rub the rice too much by hand, otherwise the above nutrients will be lost.

Bean food, remove impurities.

Cleaning legumes is mainly to remove impurities that are visible and invisible to the naked eye.

First, put the beans in a flat container and pick out possible pebbles, broken leaves, etc. Then put the beans in a filterable container and rinse them with cold water.

If it is dried beans, it needs to be soaked in hot water and cooked warmly. If boiled directly, beans are difficult to cook thoroughly.

Four-step cleaning method for removing impurities, filtering, soaking and warm cooking of bean food. Image source: Bean Institute

Clean eggs, "dry cleaning" is preferred.

Eggs bought in a complete package from the supermarket don't need cleaning. This kind of eggs are commercial eggs, most of which have been cleaned during processing. After cleaning, the surface of the eggs will be coated with a layer of edible light mineral oil for protection. Even if it is not washed, clean and fresh eggs have their own protective film, which makes it difficult for bacteria to invade. At this time, if you wash eggs extra, it will increase health risks.

But if you find that the surface of the egg is dirty, it is better to clean it. It should be mentioned that eggs should be stored after cleaning, so they should be cleaned and put in the refrigerator.

In order to affect the protective film as little as possible, the preferred method is "dry cleaning". The specific method is to wipe the dirt on the eggs with a clean dry sponge and shredded melon pulp. And don't touch clean places too much to make the protective film as complete as possible.

Dry clean eggs with a dry sponge. Image source: jefney.com

If the eggs are too dirty to dry clean, they can be washed with water, but remember the following points:

Eggs should be washed with hot water to ensure that the water temperature is higher than that of eggs, but it is not hot. It's best to wash under the tap.

Then put the eggs into disinfectant (or vinegar) for disinfection. Remember that you only need to soak the bottom of the egg and adjust the position of the egg in time to avoid excessive dissolution of the eggshell in disinfectant or vinegar.

Finally, dry the eggs.

Shellfish, sand removal and shell cleaning

Shellfish foods, such as clams, need to be thoroughly cleaned because they contain more sand and stones, otherwise these dirty things will be eaten by you.

Before cooking shellfish, rinse to remove some sediment. Then put it in a pot of cold water, add some salt to stimulate sand spitting, and then put it in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. Remember to stir it a few times while waiting. After taking it out of the refrigerator, don't throw it out, but take out the shell by hand. At this time, fine sand can be seen at the bottom of the pot. Finally, rinse the shell again and clean the shell with a clean brush. So you can get clean shellfish food.

Clean the housing with a brush. Image source: Food52

Fruits and vegetables, various methods to remove pesticide residues.

At present, most pesticides used in China are low-toxicity and low-residue varieties, and the rate of pesticide residues exceeding the standard is relatively low, so don't worry too much. However, the pesticide residues on vegetables and fruits can be further reduced by cleaning. The specific feasible methods are: cleaning, peeling and blanching.

Cleaning can be done with running water and gently rubbed by hand. Such external force can remove pesticide residues on the surface of vegetables and fruits. If there is baking soda at home, it can also be used to clean vegetables and fruits. Some studies have used ordinary water, disinfectant and soda water to remove pesticide residues on the surface of apples, and found that soda water is the most effective. Just add a spoonful of baking soda to the container for seasoning, soak it for a few minutes, and then rinse it according to the above method, so that more pesticides can be removed.

02

Auricularia auricula: It has high nutritional value and is a food that many people like to eat. There is always a lot of sand and impurities hidden in it, which will affect appetite. Here, I will teach you to wash agaric with starch, fine starch and warm water, and stir them evenly, so that the tiny dirt attached to agaric can be easily separated. At this time, pour out the starch water from the fished auricularia auricula and rinse it with clear water, so that it can be thoroughly cleaned.

Grapes: As we all know, there are often a lot of hoarfrost and pesticide residues on the surface of grapes, which are difficult to clean and may not be clean. Here are two ways to teach you:

Method 1: Put the grapes into a pot one by one, then sprinkle some flour into it, stir it in the water with your palm for a few minutes, then pour out the turbid flour and dirty water, and then rinse it with clear water.

Method 2: put the grapes on the towel with a clean towel, and then wash them with water for several times to effectively remove the stolen goods.

Hairiness of peach: put less salt in warm water and rub it with your hands.

Strawberries: put strawberries in a hollow basket and rinse with clear water for a few minutes; Remove the leaves, leaving only strawberry stalks, put them in a vegetable basin, add half a spoonful of salt and soak for about 5 minutes; Add the first rice washing water and soak for about 3 minutes; Drain the water in the basin and rinse it with clear water; Put clear water in the basin, but you can't see strawberries on the water. Soak in 10 minutes and you can eat it.

Myrica rubra: fill the vegetable basin with water, add a little flour and stir well; Soak bayberry in a pot for about 3 minutes; Drain the flour and rinse it with clear water; Then fill the vegetable basin with water and add 2-3 teaspoons of salt (1 liter of water); Add bayberry and soak for about half an hour; Finally, rinse with clean water.

Mulberry: wear rubber gloves first to avoid getting your fingers; Wash the cleaned mulberry leaves only with pedicels under the faucet, not in the basin, so as to avoid pesticide infiltration into the meat; After washing, the mulberry can be soaked in any water such as salt water, flour water, rice washing water and alkaline water. , can remove pesticides; After fully soaking, rinse with clear water.

Hard-skinned fruit: there are pesticide and wax residues on the surface of hard-skinned fruit peel, which can not be completely cleaned with water only; Rinse the hard-skinned fruit with clear water to remove the dirt on the surface; Then apply some baking soda on the surface of the peel and rub it with your hands. Baking soda can effectively remove residual pesticides and fruit wax. Finally, rinse with clean water.

03

What should I do before cooking? Many people will answer, clean the ingredients. But how to wash it? Many people think that even after washing, all kinds of ingredients are thrown into the water to wash for a while.

Image source: Pxhere

However, cleaning is not the same as cleaning. In fact, whether to wash food, why to wash it and how to wash it are all knowledge and an important step to ensure food safety, and should not be treated rashly.

The following are some cleaning suggestions for common foods.

Soaking rice can remove arsenic.

Natural water contains arsenic more or less, and rice grows in paddy fields and can be rich in arsenic, so there is arsenic in the rice we eat every day. If rice meets the safety standards, there is no need to worry too much about the harm of arsenic. Give it a quick rinse. But if you are worried about arsenic, you can further reduce the risk by soaking.

04

To wash pork, most people wash it directly with tap water, or chop up the meat and wash it with tap water. Of course, chop up the pork and put it in a leaky basket and wash it with tap water. In fact, none of these methods can effectively clean. Pork contains a lot of oil, which is not easy to dissolve in water and easily sticks to the basket. The best way is to soak in rice washing water for about five minutes, and then rinse with tap water.

Cleaning fish, some people think that the fresher the fish, the easier it is to clean. Actually, it's about the same. There will be a strong fishy smell after cleaning. In fact, some cleaning techniques can be used to remove the fishy smell more thoroughly. The method is to wash the fish with clear water several times, then put it in cold water and soak it in pepper and vinegar, or soak it in rice washing water before washing it with clear water, so that the fish can be clean and have less fishy smell.