Thanksgiving is one week away. Count the produce on your list: potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, a bag of Brussels sprouts, celery and onions for the stuffing, cranberries, a few pounds of apples, salad greens and fresh herbs. For a table of 12, that's a lot of washing to cram into Thursday morning.
Wash it earlier instead. Produce washed with Eat Cleaner Fruit & Veggie Wash, dried and stored sealed in the fridge stays fresh up to 5x longer when used as directed. You can wash on the weekend, chop on Tuesday and cook on Thursday.
Why wash produce when you're cooking for a crowd
- Produce travels before it reaches you. On average it covers more than 1,500 miles through farms, packing houses, trucks and store bins before it lands on your cutting board.
- Water alone leaves the wax behind. Apples, cucumbers and citrus often carry a wax coating that a rinse won't break apart. Eat Cleaner's formula breaks it down.
- Cooking doesn't erase residue. Heat breaks down some pesticide residue but not all of it, so wash before you cook, peel or chop.
- The lab results hold up. In third-party testing, Eat Cleaner was 99 times more effective than rinse water at reducing two common pesticides on apples, and it removed more than 99% of two surface-applied pesticides from strawberries.
- It leaves no taste. In a consumer perception survey, 96% of people agreed Eat Cleaner is odorless and tasteless when used as directed. Your pie still tastes like apples and cinnamon.
- Your prep holds longer. Eat Cleaner is lab-proven to deter future growth of yeast and mold, which gives you room to prep days ahead and fewer bags of limp green beans in the crisper.
How to use Eat Cleaner
- Spray the produce until the surface is covered. For loose items like green beans or cranberries, spray them in a colander and toss.
- Wait 2 minutes.
- Rinse under cool water.
- Dry thoroughly with a towel or a salad spinner. Leftover moisture shortens shelf life.
- Store sealed in the fridge.
One 12 oz bottle gives you more than 800 sprays, enough for a full holiday week of produce.
The Thanksgiving produce guide, dish by dish
| Dish | Produce | How to wash it | When to wash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green bean casserole | Fresh green beans | Spray in a colander, toss, wait 2 minutes, rinse, dry on a towel, then trim the ends | Saturday to Monday |
| Roasted Brussels sprouts | Brussels sprouts | Trim the stems and pull off loose outer leaves. Spray, wait 2 minutes, rinse, dry well for a crisp roast | Saturday to Monday |
| Stuffing | Celery, onions, fresh sage and thyme | Separate celery stalks and spray the base, where soil collects. Peel the onions. Mist the herbs, wait 2 minutes, rinse, roll in a dry towel | Sunday to Tuesday |
| Cranberry sauce | Fresh cranberries | Spray in a colander, toss, wait 2 minutes, rinse, pick out soft berries | Monday (the sauce keeps for days) |
| Mashed potatoes | Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes | Spray, wait 2 minutes, scrub with a vegetable brush, rinse. Dry fully and keep in a cool, dark spot, not the fridge | Tuesday or Wednesday |
| Sweet potato casserole | Sweet potatoes | Same as potatoes | Tuesday or Wednesday |
| Apple pie | Baking apples | Spray, wait 2 minutes, rinse, dry before you peel | Tuesday or Wednesday |
| Salad | Lettuce, cucumbers | Separate the leaves. Spray, wait 2 minutes, rinse, spin dry, store in a sealed container lined with a paper towel | Tuesday or Wednesday |
| Veggie and fruit board | Carrots, bell peppers, grapes, strawberries | Spray in a colander, wait 2 minutes, rinse, dry fully | Wednesday |
A make-ahead schedule for Thanksgiving week
- Saturday or Sunday: shop. Wash the green beans, Brussels sprouts and celery the same day.
- Monday: make the cranberry sauce. Trim the green beans.
- Tuesday: chop celery and onions for the stuffing and wash the herbs. Assemble the green bean casserole and refrigerate it unbaked.
- Wednesday: wash the potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, greens and board produce. Bake the pie. Peel and cube the potatoes and keep them covered in cold water in the fridge.
- Thursday: cook. Your produce is washed, dried and waiting.
For the table, and for Friendsgiving on the road
Eat Cleaner Fruit & Veggie Wash Wipes clean firm fruits and vegetables with no rinse. Set a pack next to the fruit bowl so guests can wipe an apple or pear, or toss one in your bag on the way to a Friendsgiving potluck. The Spray and Wipes Duo gets you both.
Cooking for a big crowd or hosting more than once this season? Keep an Eat Cleaner Refill Jug in the pantry.
Still getting the house ready? Our pre-Thanksgiving deep clean plan covers the rest of the home.
Produce washing FAQ
Should you wash vegetables before cooking them?
Yes. Cooking breaks down some pesticide residue but doesn't remove all of it, and washing first keeps dirt from the skin out of the pan. Wash before you peel or chop, too.
How far ahead can I wash vegetables for Thanksgiving?
Hardy vegetables like green beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots and celery can be washed several days ahead if you dry them thoroughly and store them sealed in the fridge. Eat Cleaner keeps produce fresh up to 5x longer when used as directed.
Is vinegar a good fruit and vegetable wash?
Vinegar and baking soda are common home hacks. Eat Cleaner is faster and easier to use, more effective than either, and leaves no odor or aftertaste on your food.
Will a produce wash change the taste of my food?
In a consumer perception survey, 96% of people agreed Eat Cleaner is odorless and tasteless when used as directed.
Shop Eat Cleaner
- Eat Cleaner Fruit & Veggie Wash, 12 oz spray with 2 bonus refills
- Eat Cleaner Spray and Wipes Duo
- Eat Cleaner Refill Jug
