Cheap and Easy Fruit Wash

I love grapes.  But since grapes are on the "Dirty Dozen" list of fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residue, I try to only buy organic grapes.  This is a struggle for me sometimes.  The frugal side of me has a really hard time paying $3 a pound at the store when I can get the conventional ones for $1-$2 a pound and my inner-hippie cringes at the thought of poisoning my family with pesticides.  This week, they were on sale for $0.85 a pound.  I just couldn't resist! 

When I go home, I remembered a pin I found on Pinterest (go figure) from A Pretty Life about using vinegar as a fruit wash.  Surely this would help me feel better about all the pesticide residue I'm sure was lurking on my innocent-looking grapes.  So I gave it a try.  The original method says to soak the fruit in your sink, but since my sink was full of dishes, I used a large bowl. 

Just look at those cute little babies taking a bath!  I like to take the grapes off the vine and store them in a bowl in the refrigerator.  I take this extra step to prevent waste.  You see, my family refuses to eat grapes off the vine.  It's really strange.  If I leave them on the vine they will rot in the fridge before anyone eats them.  But, if I take them off the vine, wash them, and put them in a bowl, they don't last more than a few days in my fridge.  So, I took them off the vine and gave them a bath in about a gallon and a half of water and just under a cup of vinegar.  They soaked for about 10 minutes.  The water got cloudy and that gave me assurance that it actually worked. 

I ate a grape straight from the water to see if it tasted like vinegar and I didn't get a vinegar taste at all.  But just to be thorough, I rinsed them again in a colander.  Overall, I'm very pleased with this method.  My frugal side is happy because I took advantage of a sale, my grape-loving side is super-excited to have grapes in the fridge, and finally, my inner-hippie is somewhat satisfied that I'm not poisoning my family with pesticide-covered grapes. 


What about you, do you struggle with balancing budget and pesticide-free produce?  If not, please let me know how you balance it!  :)


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