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Friday, June 6, 2014

It's strawberry season!


After such a long, snowy winter, it's wonderful to taste fresh, ripe, red strawberries! We typically get our strawberries from local Amish farmers, but today we ended up getting a flat from Fifer Orchards in Delaware. Now strawberries are #2 on the dirty dozen list for pesticides, so I would love to always get them organic. However, I learned a few things about Fifer's strawberries to make me feel better about their conventional produce. First, they till the soil in their strawberry fields every year, so they aren't trying to use pesticides for weed management like they do in no-till farming. They also use black covering between the plants to reduce weeds. I figured I was going to use a produce wash on the strawberries as well, so we would enjoy local and seasonal food, even if it wasn't certified organic. My mother-in-law just paid $4.50 for a quart of strawberries from one farm, but we got the flat of 8 quarts for only $30. Always ask about wholesale prices!



Produce Wash

I found a pin on Pinterest for produce wash, and I wanted to give it a try. The recipe said,

"Just a few drops of Essential Oils will wash off germs and parasites. Let your produce soak in this Fruit & Vegetable Wash or spray it and let sit for 5 minutes: FRUIT & VEGETABLE WASH RECIPE In a BPA-free Spray Bottle Add: 1 cup Water 1/4 cup distilled white Vinegar 2 TB Sea Salt or 1 TB Baking Soda 5 drops of Young Living Essential Oil (Lemon, Lime, Purification or Thieves)." 


Since I had so many strawberries, I decided to use my kitchen sink. I washed the sink first, and then added 1 gallon of purified water, 4 cups of white vinegar, 16 TBL of baking soda, and about 10 drops of Young Living Lemon essential oil. After soaking, I hulled the strawberries, placed them on parchment lined cookie sheets, and I popped them in the freezer. Did you notice I may have missed a step? The directions didn't mention rinsing, but they should have! After finishing 2 quarts, I popped a strawberry in my mouth and it was gross. :-( A good rinse with water was all they needed. I pulled the cookie sheets out of the freezer, rinsed, and put them back. 


This produce wash works. Here's the amount of dirt that came off of just 2 quarts of strawberries! By soaking in vinegar, it kills mold spores on the fruit, so the fruit will last longer. 


Since I realized I needed to rinse after soaking, I changed my routine for the rest of the strawberries. Here's my recipe. 

Produce Wash Recipe for 1 quart of fruit

Ingredients: 
4 cups purified water
1 cup white vinegar
4 Tablespoons baking soda
5-10 drops of Young Living Lemon essential oil

Fill large glass bowl with ingredients and stir to combine. Add enough fruit to fill top of bowl, and soak for 5 minutes. Rinse fruit well in colander.  Repeat with rest of fruit. 


What's your favorite strawberry recipe? Here are some I want to try: 


7. Strawberry-rhubarb Omelette

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