Eating strawberries this year

ectomorph

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 3:24 pm

What is the kosher status of this year's crop of strawberries?

I love strawberries but my husband is nervous about eating them. I rinse them with water, cut off the top with a bit of strawberry, and look at them under a bright light. I never see anything but seeds. (and I scraped some off and they still look like seeds)

Any sources for how to clean and check strawberries?

chani8

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 3:33 pm

Just open some of them to check inside for worms.

I thought the strawberries were very heavy on the pesticides this year. I doubt they're buggy. We can't even eat them, they're so pesticidey.

Kugglegirl

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 3:34 pm

According to the Star-K you do not need to do visual inspection after following the cleaning & trimming procedures.

http://star-k.org/cons-vegdetail.php?ID=48

There is a video tutorial also.

I feel much more confident in checking for bugs after watching these tutorials.

Last edited by Kugglegirl on Mon, Apr 28 2014, 3:35 pm; edited 1 time in total

MaBelleVie

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 3:35 pm

chani8 wrote:

Just open some of them to check inside for worms.

AFAIK, strawberries don't regularly have worms. At least not in the us. If they have bugs, they would be clinging to the outside and hiding amidst the seeds.

Chickpea

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 3:55 pm

Rinsing them with plain water is not enough. You have to add a few tiny drops of dishwashing liquid to the water. The soap causes the insects to release their proboscis' grip from the the berry. Check out the Kof-K website on how to check for insects, for further instructions.

chani8

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 3:59 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

AFAIK, strawberries don't regularly have worms. At least not in the us. If they have bugs, they would be clinging to the outside and hiding amidst the seeds.

I'm pretty sure you're supposed to open a few of them to check for worms. Well, that was probably a chumra I picked up somewhere.

chani8

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 4:01 pm

Kugglegirl wrote:

Not all people hold by star k.

ectomorph

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 4:02 pm

I do open them up to check for worms. I have never found any worms, but I live in the US where they are generally not a problem.

Thanks for the Star-K link. So I'll just rinse them in soapy instead of plain water. It's not a big deal. I used to do it that way but nothing ever came off the strawberries then either.

mummiedearest

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 6:32 pm

I use plain water, strong stream. I don't cut them open unless there are holes, in which case you need to cut the holes down the middle. I have not found bugs in holes of strawberries, but I have found them on the outside (not often). I have found a bug in a hole in a peach once. it was a really good peach Smile

Kugglegirl

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 6:41 pm

the OP did not specify who she holds by. Star K is considered a reliable organization by my rav & by many main stream orthodox in the US.

boysrus

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 7:19 pm

ectomorph wrote:

I am surprised that nothing comes off in your soapy water, it is possibly because teh bugs can be very small an maybe you just dont notice them. The one time that I left my soapy water sitting in the bowl for an hour or so after taking the strawberries out and rinsing them, when I came to clean it, I clearly saw plenty of strange looking stuff when washing out the bowl, definitely some bugs in there.

SingALong

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 7:27 pm

At a shiur I recently went to the Rav said the only way to eat strawberries is to cut off the top and peel the skin. Even with soapy water, some bugs may hide behind the seeds and stay in.

sky

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 7:41 pm

I was told to cut off the top and peel.
I was told by the same person that most cholov yisroel yogurts in the US stopped using pureed strawberries because of bugs. They only use the juice - I think this is true for blueberry yogurt as well.

baker1

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 8:21 pm

SingALong wrote:

At a shiur I recently went to the Rav said the only way to eat strawberries is to cut off the top and peel the skin. Even with soapy water, some bugs may hide behind the seeds and stay in.

Yup just heard this a Bedikas Tolaim class.

SplitPea

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 8:50 pm

We eat a LOT of strawberries ( 2 pints a week most of the year) I have found worms a total of 6 times in the past 9 years (. 1 over this past pesach)

I know they say you don't need to check for worms but the first time I found one was when I found HALF of one in a strawberry I took a bite of . You bet every strawberry we eat is now checked for worms. I am more worried about those than the tiny little ones you need a magnifying glass to see

greenfire

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 9:14 pm

chani8 wrote:

I'm pretty sure you're supposed to open a few of them to check for worms. Well, that was probably a chumra I picked up somewhere.

that's for figs ...

themom

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 9:14 pm

We stopped eating strawberries after being told that a kashrus agency was still able to find microscopic bugs in strawberries after going thru the whole soaking and swishing process.

greenfire

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 9:16 pm

tzippibird wrote:

sounds a little too bubbly Drunken Smile

SplitPea

Mon, Apr 28 2014, 9:17 pm

themom wrote:

We stopped eating strawberries after being told that a kashrus agency was still able to find microscopic bugs in strawberries after going thru the whole soaking and swishing process.

Where in the Gemara or Halacha does it say microscopic bugs are a problem?!?!

Really 1,000 years ago do you think they has their light boxes and mesh and dish soap?! NO. The Gemara talks about rebuking a woman for missing a bug... They asked about the size and they said the size of a LIZARD.

If you can't see it it does not exist.