How many holivars, it turns out, are around a simple question - to wash or not wash products.
Take, for example, melons and watermelons, which some are washed with a brush and soap, and with the latter it is enough to simply wipe it with a damp cloth, or even not wipe it, if there are no dried lumps of earth on them, of course.
I honestly admit that I belong rather to the second category, because we don't eat the peel, we just cut out the pulp of the watermelon and melon.
And many acquaintances actually wash them. And the wildest explanation - "to wash off the nitrates." Um, is that possible?
On the other hand, I understand these people, they are afraid, let them wash for health.
But I don’t understand those who wash semi-finished meat or fish products, packed under vacuum, or in a gaseous environment, at least how one can prove that “this is how it should be”.
I myself necessarily wash meat and poultry and fish purchased at the market or in the store only in one case - if they are sold by weight.
I see no point in washing up the cuts for the basics, ready to be sent to the pan. After all, this will only add water when frying, and the dish will be much less tasty as a result.
And high-quality chicken, just packed in a bag, is probably also not worth washing.
Although... A colleague wrote to me about this - I used to wash, but now I don't buy store birds at all. Because on them the remnants of fluff, then hemp from the feathers stick out from the skin. That is why she first scalded the chickens with boiling water, and then literally processed them again, especially the “folds”.
If the product is of such quality, then it is clear that it needs to be washed. And if the chicken is perfectly prepared, then why?
IMHO, the most reasonable thing is to assess the need for washing by the condition of the product. Well, for its intended purpose. if pure, vacuum-packed meat, especially if it will be cooked, then why do we need water? It's the same with chicken and fish.
And if the vegetables and fruits that we eat are raw, then washing is a must.
By the way, to fill in the question that was raised in the comments to one of the publications: when do you wash potatoes? Before cleaning or after?
Catering technology obliges to wash potatoes before peeling and, of course, after peeling too. But at home it is often cleaned first - then washed.
And this, it turns out, is also a very fundamental question for many.
What are you doing?