Do you check your own vegetables?

mummiedearest

Mon, Apr 23 2012, 9:13 am

sarahd wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

re: if there are bugs in the herb water:

redo the whole process. if after the third time the water is buggy, chuck that bunch.

re: strawberries:

I do what r' belsky says (I was taught this before I knew that r'belsky holds this way, but it's nice to have backing Smile

). rinse the strawberries well in a strong stream of water. cut off tops. check outside of strawberries. if there are any holes, cut through the holes and check the insides.

I have found bugs on various bits of produce, so I'm confident in my checking abilities. btw, I've found bugs in garlic in brooklyn. anyone here check garlic? I was quite shocked at the time.

I have found thrips running around in garlic lots of times, which is why I now refrigerate my garlic. They are not hard to see; I found them when I wasn't looking for them.

they're not hard to see, but I've never known anyone else who found them. nice to know I'm not nuts Smile

SJcookie

Mon, Apr 23 2012, 2:03 pm

We generally don't eat raspberries, blackberries, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and brussel sprouts (even if they're all bodek). Not at home, not at a restaurant, etc.
My husband said each part of the broccoli needs to be checked, and it's almost impossible to do so.

We'll eat strawberries if they're washed and checked and then placed in a blender (so yummy in smoothies!)

All salad greens and cabbage - I buy pre-checked and washed.

Makes life a lot easier, but I still miss brussel sprouts! (They were my fave as a kiddo)

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Apr 23 2012, 4:11 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

Not to be nitpicky, but I believe there is a difference in terms of blending among different fruits and vegetables, at least according to some opinions. I was told that blending frozen berries is ok, but broccoli is not. Just didn't want anyone to get the impression that its an across the board heter lechatchila Smile

It's because it goes by intention.
Most usually broccoli doesn't get consumed blended; if one blends just to mash up the bugs, it's not "l'chatchila". Strawberries that are always blended in smoothies, for example, can continue to be consumed in that manner. If you used to use them whole in fruit soups and are trying to avoid the bugs and decide to blend it, it's no longer considered "l'chatchila".

That's according to what I heard from Rabbi Mordechai Frankel of the Star K.