?? about why grocery produce dept. sprays the veggies with water.

[japple]

All of the grocery stores in my area have a water sprayer system in their produce departments, accompanied by the audio "thunder" warning. It seems to me that keeping the produce wet all of the time would make it rot faster, and I've noticed that root vegs. like turnips, radishes, parsnips and carrots seem to turn pulpy more quickly than those that I keep in my refrigerator veg. crisper at home.. The lettuces, herbs and tender leafy greens are sometimes so wet that I have to wipe my hands on a paper towel. I think if the produce managers would schedule fewer sprayings, the produce would hold out longer.

I don't know why this bugs me so badly, but I'd appreciate it if anyone could give me any information on why this spraying has become a trend in our grocery stores.

[Tesha]

1. If I were a negative sort...

I'd say items sold by weight would bring in more money to the store if they absorbed more water.....

[Duer 157099]

2. Having a naturally suspicious mind, I've always thought

that it had to do with adding weight to the produce so they make more money....

A drop here, a drop there, it all adds up

:shrug:

[yy4me]

3. I'm glad I'm not the only one who is bugged by this practice.

Around here it is very common for the stores to spray the green veggies. I think it's to keep the product looking fresher. It is a real pain in the neck. I invert all of my green veggies in the carriage as I shop and bag them as I pay. That way the water drips on their floor and not all over me. I also leave lettuce and things of that nature in my dish drainer for a while and shake out the access.

What irks me even more is the fact that some of the greens I buy are sold by the pound, therefore I am paying a per/lb price for the water.

[Warpy]

7. You don't give 'em a quick shake before you bag 'em?

I do.

[yy4me]

10. I do the quick shake while hanging over the counter but there is

still quite a bit of water in things like lettuce and radish tops. A few minutes dripping before bagging at the register line and then the air dry at home before refrigerating.

I have bought the "Green Bags" at a local surplus store and use them now. They are reusable after a rinse. Work well with things like celery, carrots, strawberries, they seem to last a lot longer and do not get limp or overripe too quickly. I need to pick up more now, I split the box with my daughter. Have not tried the bags on lettuce. I have only four. Off to Ocean State Job Lots for more soon. They are worth it.

I also do not buy cucumbers any more. Waste of money. I'll wait for the farmers market when the cukes are fresh. That includes the wrapped to death English ones.

[Callalily]

4. One of the grocery stores

I frequent does that too. And they spray far too much water on the produce, and yes I have complained. I never thought about the added weight issue, but it's certainly plausible.

[grasswire]

5. you betcha some things rot because of that

A market in my area was carrying mesh bags of kirby cucumbers in that water-spritzed section. Take them home, and they would rot in a day -- even though they looked okay at purchase, they would be slimy overnight.

I complained. It didn't make any difference. I stopped buying, although I love kirbys.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. I get my produce at the one market around here

that doesn't have a spray system, when I realized that the stuff I was buying at the other, more expensive, markets was rotting so fast. It took me a while to figure out that it was the water.

The same thing happened to me with Kirbys, which, granted, are more perishable than regular cucumbers, but mine rotted overnight, which was ridiculous. It doesn't happen when I buy at the local Giant market.

[Warpy]

6. Here in the high desert, that system is absolutely essential

and stores that don't have it find themselves throwing out a lot of good produce that just dried out. This is the first place I ever saw it, probably 18 years ago, and I'm not surprised other markets have picked it up.

However, some markets in humid areas are probably seeing mold if they don't rotate their produce frequently. Even here, they don't spray things like sweet corn or many root veggies, especially the ones that are waxed.

Maybe you need to talk to the produce manager at your market about not spraying root veggies. The leaves, if they have them, might stay nice longer but the veggies themselves won't.

[Retrograde]

12. It makes the vegetables look more attractive

it's dry here half the year, and the occasional spray helps keep greens from dehydrating. The farmers' market folks don't do this, but they're careful to keep their leafy crops shaded. The small neighborhood markets often don't spray, and their greens look more wilted.

It makes some sense to spray the greens since the veggies do lose some water through their leaves, but they shouldn't be floating!

[pengillian101]

9. Sprayed vegies

The sprayed fresh greenery probably stays the best. A friend of mine worked at a grocer's fresh vegie aisle.

Once, I got a bunch of celery that was so wilted I threw it out. She said I should have just run it under cold water. The next time, I did just that - it snapped right back to crisp. I always core my head of lettuce and do that also.

Root vegetables - absolutely NOT! Especially if the greenery is still attached like radishes or carrots. That's when, if they spray with water it turns to slime.

And spraying water on potatoes and other root vegetables -- why???

[Retrograde]

13. soak in acidulated water for 30 minutes or so to revive

Wilted lettuce, celery, other leaf crops can often be revived by soaking them in cold water with a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice, about a teaspoon to the gallon. The wilting is caused by loss of water (they're leaves: remember what you learned in high school biology about plants breathing through the pores in their leaves? You're trying to get moisture back in via osmosis.) If there's still some life in them they will perk up. (Thank you Alton Brown!)

I find that storing fresh parsley, cilantro and sometimes even celery as if they were flowers - i.e., the stems in a jar or vase of water - extends their life. Once they're slimy, though, there doesn't seem to be much that helps. This seems to be due to too much water on the surface for too long, and they're now rotting. The only thing they're good for is the compost pile. Storing vegetables in plastic bags seems to make them go slimy quicker, since the moisture remains in contact.

I'll have to experiment with reviving wilted root vegetables (potatoes are tubers rather than true roots): most carrots I buy still have some root hairs attached, so it might work.

[japple]

11. I never even thought about the water adding weight to the

product, but that makes sense. When I first saw the watering system several years ago, my first thought was that it was a psychological thing, to make buyers think their produce was really, really fresh. But that I'm buying added water weight makes sense to me.

I am happy to read that others are irked by this, too. I live in a very humid area, and when the turnips start sprouting, you know they're using too much water. I will be so happy when my garden starts producing and the local farmers markets open so I don't have to buy so much from Kroger and Ingles.

[kestrel91316]

14. I always assumed it was so things didn't dry out and could be held longer

before having to discard. I shake the water off my leafy greens before bagging so I don't pay unnecessarily for it.