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Forum
-> Household Management
-> Kosher Kitchen
goodmorning
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 Sat, Apr 21 2012, 11:18 pm
Lettuce, cabbage, scallions, celery, cauliflower, etc.
I'd really like to hear which vegetables are easily checkable and how to check them - I'm tired of either not using them or paying exorbitant sums for prechecked! If you check any "interesting" vegetables yourself, can you describe how you do it and what to look for? I don't have a lightbox but may be willing to get one if it's necessary enough. I've looked at the online guides to checking produce, but am not sure if it's giving me enough of a feel. Also feel free to post if a vegetable is non-checkable.
(This is not so much a question of halacha so much as metzius - in which vegetables are insects either not so prevalent or easy to check.)
This is sort of a spinoff of a different thread where one poster thought that bugs don't like kale because it's bitter and one said that aphids love it but they're easy to check - so which is it? And how do you check kale?
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Rodent
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Sat, Apr 21 2012, 11:36 pm
We check everything ourselves, you can't buy prechecked here anyway.
It depends a bit on your location as to how things need to be checked (to what level) and what cannot be done at all (we have issues with asparagus here which is fine overseas, but broccoli and strawberries etc are no real issue).
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shabbatiscoming
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Sat, Apr 21 2012, 11:44 pm
Growing up we never checked anything (lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli etc)
I do the same today, maybe I will give lettuce a once over, thats it.
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goodmorning
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Sat, Apr 21 2012, 11:47 pm
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Thanks, Rodent. I'm in NY.
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Karnash
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 2:50 am
I check most vegetables myself. I buy bug-free green - parsley, dill, etc. I don't buy fresh broccoli, but buy broccolini when I can get it.
At the store - I only buy veggies that look good -I.e. - cauliflower - white, tight compact head, no obvious bugs or nibbled florets. At home, I take it apart, check some florets really closely - cutting them in to 2 or 3, and then soak in salted water or vinegar w/water. If you can't see any bugs with the naked eye, it's ok. You don't need a magnifying glass.
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cbsmommy
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 3:09 am
I check my own veggies. I'm in the midwest.
Celery - we use the stalks, not the leaves (personal preference of mine). I just wash and use a scrub brush.
Cauliflower - I look for tight, closed, florets. Take home, cut apart, remove any little overhanging stems on the stalks, swish, soak in soapy water. Strain, check the water. Then I check three florets (take em apart type of checking). Rinse all the cauliflower and use.
lettuce - no need for a light box. We typically buy romaine. I went to a CRC demonstration on how to check. You use a clear bowl and a strainer (same as for the cauliflower). You make the soap all bubbly and add it to the water. Dump in the romaine. Swish. Soak. Take out the strainer and check the water. If you find bugs, repeat the process. If not, rinse, inspect 3 leaves from the batch, and you are good to go. And by inspect, no light box required. just a visual check.
Kale - same as lettuce.
Cabbage - most of the time that I'm using cabbage, I'm making cabbage rolls (rather than cole slaw). So I buy a whole head on sale, and freeze. The night before I want to cook, I remove it from the deep freezer and defrost. I peel off the three outer layers and discard. Then I wash the leaves well, visually briefly check each one over for major signs of infestation. Most of the time, if you are inspecting the cabbage at the store and not seeing little nibbles or bugs, you don't find worms. If you do find em, they slip right off the slick defrosted leaves, and you just wash really really well. Find a ton of bugs? Discard and make something else, or have a second head of cabbage handy.
Brocoli - I buy frozen.
Asparagus - Green - Peel the stalks. Cut off the tips. Wash. use. White asparagus - just peel the stems.
Spinach - I buy bagged triple washed (no hechsher, but just plain whole spinach leaves). Chazakah check three leaves, and use.
Herbs - I buy frozen cubes for convenience in cooking. But, if I'm making something that needs fresh herbs, I 'll buy the parsley, cilantro, etc and check the same way I check lettuce.
Scallions - I rarely buy because we don't like em too much. However, just a visual inspection and thorough washing. No fancy shmancy procedures like with the cauliflower/lettuce...
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chocolate moose
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 8:27 am
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You're responsible for everthing you put into your mouth. Cereal, potato chips; everything.
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imaima
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 8:32 am
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Rav Falk has a sefer on it, too. It describes everything in great detail. I assume it is chumradik, because many practices described by previous posters sound lenient.
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dee's mommy
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 10:04 am
While occasionally I buy the pre checked frozen broccoli and cauliflower, I often check my own, using the Star K guide as a guide.
Instead of a light box, I use a desk lamp. I turn up the neck, and let the light shine through the leaves.
Oh, and sometimes it happens, that I don't have time to check the broccoli, or too many florets look suspicious, I just cut them off and use the stems. They make a really good kugel. Mostly I can get to the florets on time though.
Also for broccoli florets, after I do the whole agitate them in soapy water, and then plain water in a white bowl, up to three times routine, I parboil them, and then check the florets one by one. (Parboiling them is supposed to turn the insects brown and black, making them easier to see.)
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Shore
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 10:48 am
It's surprising to hear that some people just look over their vegetables - I check my own veggies and find bugs that wouldnt have been noticed with just a "look over"
I use a bug light - I definitely recommend it - makes the whole process way easier
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granolamom
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 10:55 am
I check most veggies myself, but I will say that broccoli is VERY difficult to check, that I buy frozen after my worn incident...
I used to check my broccoli by chopping off the florets and soaking/agitating them in a vinegar/water solution. then I'd rinse under strong stream of water, then hold up to light and visually inspect.
so one day I did all this and then as I was tossing the chopped florets into the pan I noticed the Worm. it was green with some light brown stripes and it was AS BIG AS MY PINKY. but because it was the exact color as the vegetable and wrapped around the stem of a floret, I missed it. I couldnt believe I missed something so big, I really thought I was checking carefully. I always check slowly and I knew that there could be worms in broccoli, but that guy was sly. and the kicker was that he was also still very much alive! lived in my fridge for a few days even.
I didnt know about parboiling, I guess that would've helped.
I try to buy the bug-free herbs or I use the bodek bags for soups/stews. I do grow my own dill and parsley, the parsley always goes into a bag, its really hard to check and time consuming. dill is easier but also be aware of worms that look like...dill!
when I check scallions I remove the outermost layer, then slice them lengthwise and spread it flat and rinse each layer under a strong stream of water. there are sometimes tiny worms in there. same with leeks.
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mummiedearest
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 11:00 am
I check my own herbs. I don't use soap on produce. if needed, I use vinegar.
for herbs I fill a gallon ziploc with the herbs and water. seal, shake vigorously. remove the herbs, reseal bag. place over white cloth and inspect water. I find the works better than swishing in a bowl, and it's faster.
I tend to buy prechecked lettuce and frozen broc/cauliflower for convenience. I check strawberries myself, but buy frozen if I'm going to cook them.
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bamamama
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 11:18 am
| imaima wrote: | | Rav Falk has a sefer on it, too. It describes everything in great detail. I assume it is chumradik, because many practices described by previous posters sound lenient. |
Why does it sound like Rav Falk goes to great lengths to make women's lives more difficult? There's kosher and there's obsessive compulsive.
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sarahd
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 11:19 am
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A great way to check dill and parsley is to hold them by the stems and bang them hard on a light colored surface. Whenever I do that in the summer, I find bugs out for a nice stroll on my table (which is why I no longer buy dill and parsley in the summer.) If I don't find bugs on my table, I go on to the soak business, but the banging sure does save a lot of time and vinegar.
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sarahd
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 11:20 am
| bamamama wrote: | | imaima wrote: | | Rav Falk has a sefer on it, too. It describes everything in great detail. I assume it is chumradik, because many practices described by previous posters sound lenient. |
Why does it sound like Rav Falk goes to great lengths to make women's lives more difficult? There's kosher and there's obsessive compulsive. |
His book is a lot less chumradik than other guides I have read. He is trying to save Jews from eating bugs, is all.
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amother
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 11:38 am
| mummiedearest wrote: | I check my own herbs. I don't use soap on produce. if needed, I use vinegar.
for herbs I fill a gallon ziploc with the herbs and water. seal, shake vigorously. remove the herbs, reseal bag. place over white cloth and inspect water. I find the works better than swishing in a bowl, and it's faster.
I tend to buy prechecked lettuce and frozen broc/cauliflower for convenience. I check strawberries myself, but buy frozen if I'm going to cook them. |
Can I ask you how you check strawberries?
My Bro in law is a rav hamachshir and spends alot of time on strawberries. He says the bugs crawl into the seeds to hide and come back out later. The only way you can eat fresh strawberries is if you peel them.
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granolamom
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 12:49 pm
| sarahd wrote: | | A great way to check dill and parsley is to hold them by the stems and bang them hard on a light colored surface. Whenever I do that in the summer, I find bugs out for a nice stroll on my table (which is why I no longer buy dill and parsley in the summer.) If I don't find bugs on my table, I go on to the soak business, but the banging sure does save a lot of time and vinegar. |
so you dont have to soak if no bugs fall out from shaking/banging?
do you still check the individual leaves? or the assumption is that anything in there falls out from banging on a surface? and if that's the assumption, then why do you have to soak if bugs DO fall out?
I dont mind the vinegar but I'd sure like to save some time
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granolamom
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 12:51 pm
| mummiedearest wrote: | I check my own herbs. I don't use soap on produce. if needed, I use vinegar.
for herbs I fill a gallon ziploc with the herbs and water. seal, shake vigorously. remove the herbs, reseal bag. place over white cloth and inspect water. I find the works better than swishing in a bowl, and it's faster.
I tend to buy prechecked lettuce and frozen broc/cauliflower for convenience. I check strawberries myself, but buy frozen if I'm going to cook them. |
so if the water is clear, you no longer have to inspect the leaves? and if you find bugs in the water, then what?
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amother
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Sun, Apr 22 2012, 1:09 pm
| amother wrote: | | mummiedearest wrote: | I check my own herbs. I don't use soap on produce. if needed, I use vinegar.
for herbs I fill a gallon ziploc with the herbs and water. seal, shake vigorously. remove the herbs, reseal bag. place over white cloth and inspect water. I find the works better than swishing in a bowl, and it's faster.
I tend to buy prechecked lettuce and frozen broc/cauliflower for convenience. I check strawberries myself, but buy frozen if I'm going to cook them. |
Can I ask you how you check strawberries?
My Bro in law is a rav hamachshir and spends alot of time on strawberries. He says the bugs crawl into the seeds to hide and come back out later. The only way you can eat fresh strawberries is if you peel them. |
I think that strawberries (could be other produce as well) depends on location. In America, the star k and the ou, and maybe others that I don't know about do not require peeling. Just soaking and rinsing. In Israel the rabbanut requires peeling-unless you plan on pureeing or cooking them. Then you just need to soak and rinse (3 times).
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