7 Tips for Cleaning Fruits, Vegetables
Display titles and publisher names are translated or transliterated by TCM Compass where needed. Original information is retained separately below.
- Publisher / author
- US Food and Drug Administration
- Source language
- English
- Actually accessed
- 2026-11-04
- Published date
- Not confirmed
- Material type
- Institutional food education
- Access status
- Actually accessed
- What this source cannot establish
- Fresh produce guidance, not instructions for dried herbs or sterilization.
Supports: fresh produce washing before peeling · running water without soap · damaged produce selection
Original source information
Bibliographic wording is preserved below for checking against the original source.
- Original title
- 7 Tips for Cleaning Fruits, Vegetables
- Original publisher / author
- US Food and Drug Administration
- Original source language code
- en
- Original material type
- institutional food education
- Original supported topics
- fresh produce washing before peeling · running water without soap · damaged produce selection
- Original access status
- accessible
- Recorded access date
- 2026-11-04
- Recorded publication date
- —
- Original review notes
- Fresh produce guidance, not instructions for dried herbs or sterilization.
How this reference is used here
These are our published explanations that cite this source. Each link opens the relevant section; this does not mean the publisher endorses the article.
Chinese yam · Shan yao · What to buy
Choose an identified food yam, with intact packaging if pre-cut, and avoid damaged or decaying fresh produce. Fresh tuber and dried huai shan slices are different purchases; confirm the exact form rather than substituting equal weights.
Chinese yam · Shan yao · Cleaning before cooking
Rinse the fresh tuber under running water before peeling. Wear gloves while peeling if handling irritates your skin; the MOA article specifically recommends gloves. Cut on a clean board. Dried slices need the cleaning instructions for the purchased food product.
Ginger · Cleaning before cooking
Rinse fresh ginger before cutting or scraping the skin, using plain running water and a clean brush for dirt in firm crevices. Do not use soap. Iowa State notes that peeling is optional; scraping removes less material.
Jujube · Red dates · What to buy
Check that the label says jujube / Ziziphus jujuba rather than date-palm dates. Compare fresh, dried, pitted and candied forms. For fresh fruit, avoid damaged produce; for dried packets, retain the ingredients and storage label.
Jujube · Red dates · Cleaning before cooking
Rinse fresh fruit under running water before cutting. For a dried-fruit paste, NMSU describes cutting open the fruit to remove pits and then chopping the flesh. Check for remaining pit fragments rather than assuming a pitted label guarantees none.
Edible lily bulbs · Cleaning before cooking
The Department of Health’s food example separates the scales and washes them before soaking. For fresh scales, FDA’s running-water produce advice is also relevant: clean before cutting, with no soap or detergent.
Edible lily bulbs · Keeping dry, fresh and cooked forms
Keep dry scales protected from moisture with their original food label. Fresh scales are fresh produce, not a shelf-stable dry herb. After washing or soaking, prepare only what you can cook promptly; refrigerate the finished dish by the leftovers rule.
Lotus seeds · Cleaning before cooking
Before cooking, inspect and rinse sound food seeds with clean water. Rinsing does not rescue mouldy seeds: Taiwan FDA says removing visible bad pieces or washing may not remove contamination extending into other parts. Discard an abnormal batch.
A Beginner’s Guide to Chinese Soup Ingredients · Prepare a sequence before turning on the heat
Put the recipe and packets beside the work area. Make three notes: what needs washing or peeling, what needs a separate soak, and the order in which the recipe adds ingredients. Do not pour a mixed packet into one soaking bowl simply because everything is dry. If the instructions do not identify the components or explain their preparation, pause and ask the supplier rather than inventing a schedule.