6 Foods That Don’t Require Washing Beforehand (2 of 3)

Prewashed produce and salads

If you’re buying fresh fruits and vegetables from the market, it’s perfectly fine to wash them. You can even spray it with a specially formulated produce cleaner. On the other hand, if you’re buying a premade salad from a bag, it will indicate on the bag that it has already been prewashed, which means there’s no need to wash it again. Not only does it save you in terms of water and time, it also prevents cross-contamination problems. So simply open the bag and put the salad into a bowl. Or if you’ve purchased other vegetables in a bag that are meant for cooking, put them in the pan or oven right away.

Mushrooms

Washing mushrooms in water is a big, big mistake. Why? Because they are extremely absorbent. This isn’t to say that the water will make them dangerous to eat, as long as the water hasn’t been contaminated. But nonetheless, when they absorb too much of it, it renders them soggy and rubbery, which obviously changes the taste. But when you buy mushrooms, they will often contain some amount of dirt on them even if they’ve been rinsed. What’s the solution? Lightly dab them with a damp washcloth instead.