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Forum -> Household Management -> Kosher Kitchen
According to OU, how to check Spinach for Spinach salad?
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 8:55 am
Im seeing loads of spinach salad recipes.

How are people checking raw spinach, according to the OU?

Are they only using greenhouse spinach that doesnt need checking?
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 9:11 am
I found this on the OU website. are people checking each baby spinach leaf?

SPINACH & ARUGULA

Type of insect: Thrips, worms or leaf miners

Location of insect: In curls and inside the leaf

Method of Inspection: Soak in cold water; add several drops of concentrated non-scented detergent or vegetable wash. Agitate leaves in water to wash surfaces; use a heavy stream of water to remove all foreign matter and soap from surface of the leaf. Check each leaf on both sides under a direct light.
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 10:28 am
Yeah, that's what I learned. You can also use the thrip cloth method. It's all too much bother for me with small leaves, so I buy pre-checked. I hand-wash and check larger leaves, like romaine and iceberg.
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 10:29 am
amother [ Emerald ] wrote:
Yeah, that's what I learned. You can also use the thrip cloth method. It's all too much bother for me with small leaves, so I buy pre-checked. I hand-wash and check larger leaves, like romaine and iceberg.


I would probably save a lot of money by buying a thrip cloth.
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 10:44 am


You gotta be kidding. Id almost rather starve. This is the "easiest" method?
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itsmeima




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 10:48 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:


You gotta be kidding. Id almost rather starve. This is the "easiest" method?



It's actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it... I don't have a light box so I just put the cloth by the window...
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 10:57 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:


You gotta be kidding. Id almost rather starve. This is the "easiest" method?


LOL, I'm sure it's a lot faster when you aren't producing a video. But, yeah, that's why I buy pre-checked.
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 11:01 am
If you want Organic, theres no pre-checked.

Those who buy Organic Lettuce, Spinach, Kale and Arugula, check this way?
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 1:04 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
If you want Organic, theres no pre-checked.

Those who buy Organic Lettuce, Spinach, Kale and Arugula, check this way?


I had to quit buying anything leafy in organics. Every time I tried to check it, it was so heavily infested I ended up throwing all of it out. I once found an entire colony of caterpillars inside what looked like a perfectly good head of globe lettuce. Confused
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 1:37 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
If you want Organic, theres no pre-checked.

Those who buy Organic Lettuce, Spinach, Kale and Arugula, check this way?


I've been buying Organic Girl, assuming that the hechsher meant that is was checked. I just looked it up, and it's apparently questionable, for unknown reasons. I might just give up on my tiny leafy greens. This is too hard! But, no. Baby needs it. Time to buy a thrip cloth. SO frustrated!
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 2:04 pm
Which stores in BP sell the biggest selection of "Checked" vegetables?

Btw I know very very frum people who use all the organic greens that say triple washed, for smoothies because in a smoothie its not "Nikar" (recognizable), so its permitted. I might just drink my organic greens from now on.
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trixx




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 3:21 pm
It's healthiest to eat in cut or pureed anyways
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 3:51 pm
trixx wrote:
It's healthiest to eat in cut or pureed anyways


How does cutting the leaves resolve the lengthy checking with things all over my kitchen?

And as far as pureeing, I cant imagine too many people want to eat pureed salad.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 5:53 pm
Baby spinach leaves are super easy to check because they are flat and hardly have bugs hiding in there (I do NOT buy organic for bug-prone items, as they are way more bug-prone when organic). I do use a thrip cloth. It is absolutely not hard at all.
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amother
Coral


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 6:46 pm
amother [ Emerald ] wrote:
I've been buying Organic Girl, assuming that the hechsher meant that is was checked. I just looked it up, and it's apparently questionable, for unknown reasons. I might just give up on my tiny leafy greens. This is too hard! But, no. Baby needs it. Time to buy a thrip cloth. SO frustrated!


Unfortunately, you can't assume that the kosher symbol means it's bug free. That hechsher appears on various brands of leafy greens, all of which are just as buggy as the ones without a hechsher. Apparently the hechsher is just letting you know that there are no other unkosher ingredients.
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 7:09 pm
Those of us who buy the "checked" vegetables are relying on Heterim that commercial companies get.

When the large companies get a shipment of many boxes of produce, and one box is checked and found infestation free, all the other boxes in that shipment are usable and considered checked.

It wouldnt be humanly possible or cost effective for every lettuce leaf to be checked in these factories.

I believe this was once said publicly on the radio by a very well known Rov who felt that women checking in their kitchen, even with no lamp and thrip cloth, are MUCH more reliable than the Heterim for calling produce infestation-free and "checked/no need to check" thats given to large companies.
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amother
Aquamarine


 

Post Thu, Sep 26 2019, 10:59 pm
amother [ Coral ] wrote:
Unfortunately, you can't assume that the kosher symbol means it's bug free. That hechsher appears on various brands of leafy greens, all of which are just as buggy as the ones without a hechsher. Apparently the hechsher is just letting you know that there are no other unkosher ingredients.


It’s worth asking your rabbi about that hecksher on greens. Ours holds that we only have to check a three leaf sample on organic girl produce and then the container is considered good.

(This is in spite of the fact that we don’t hold by it for most other items.)
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Sep 27 2019, 5:05 am
amother [ Aquamarine ] wrote:
It’s worth asking your rabbi about that hecksher on greens. Ours holds that we only have to check a three leaf sample on organic girl produce and then the container is considered good.


Thats interesting, considering that its known that in general Organic produce is more infested than regular produce. You have any idea why he holds that?

Also in the case of dark green leaves of Spinach Kale and Arugula, would dark bugs even show up when placed on a bug checking light? Theres no contrast like there would be in Romaine, thats lighter leaves.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Sep 28 2019, 11:54 pm
So now I have a question that Ill end up asking after Yomtov iyH, but maybe someone has an idea:

If the goal is a thrip cloth with no bugs, why do the Kashrus organizations recommended that I use either dish detergent or vegetable wash to clean the vegetables and not vinegar, as the first step?

What if I end up with a clean thrip cloth after washing and rinsing the vegetables with vinegar, multiple times?

Isnt the "proof of the pudding" (the proof that the vegetables are infestation free), seeing a clean thrip cloth?

tia
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amother
Ruby


 

Post Sun, Sep 29 2019, 12:04 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
So now I have a question that Ill end up asking after Yomtov iyH, but maybe someone has an idea:

If the goal is a thrip cloth with no bugs, why do the Kashrus organizations recommended that I use either dish detergent or vegetable wash to clean the vegetables and not vinegar, as the first step?

What if I end up with a clean thrip cloth after washing and rinsing the vegetables with vinegar, multiple times?

Isnt the "proof of the pudding" (the proof that the vegetables are infestation free), seeing a clean thrip cloth?

tia

Presumably in their own tests the vinegar and salt water were less effective than soap or vegetable wash in removing bugs.

According to their guidelines, if the thrip cloth has bugs three times in a row, you need to get a clean thrip cloth TWICE in a row before the produce can be considered "clean." Hence there is a strong reason to recommend the most effective methods first.

However, that is only a recommendation. If you get clean produce by washing it with vinegar, lemon juice, or champagne, there should be no issue. The goal is no bugs.
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