I have to say that I haven’t been very faithful in washing fruit when it first comes into the house. I usually put the apples in a basket and tell the kids, “be sure and wash that before you eat it.” I have followed the same method with blueberries and strawberries although I would put them in the refrigerator for storage. Many times the berries would go bad and mold before they got eaten. This is disheartening especially considering the price of fruit.
The recipe is simple – one part apple cider vinegar to 10 parts water will keep fruit from molding!
Since I had a lot of fruit to wash I decided to use the sink instead of a bowl. I added the water and vinegar to the sink then placed the fruit inside and allowed it to sit for a few minutes. While the fruit was “washing” I rinsed out the containers the fruit came in. I’m only showing the blueberries but I had a lot of different fruit to wash, apples, grapes, strawberries, etc. The sink saved me a lot of time.
Another idea that I had, which turned out great, was to place a colander inside the sink to hold the smaller fruit in place while I washed them. Make sure that the water is not higher than the colander. Then simply lift the colander and drain the fruit. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before.
Overall the wash did prolong the life of the fruit. Also be sure to dry the fruit and containers properly before storing in the refrigerator.
My children really appreciate just being able to grab the fruit and go without having to wash it themselves, and my wallet appreciates fruit not going to waste!