Leeks

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:3eEAi.30318$Bv1.4712@trnddc06...

Quoted message said:

Hello, All!

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing vegetables but
today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was reminded that leeks are
perhaps the filthiest vegetables on sale. As usual, the leeks I bought
were covered with soil, organic I hope! I wonder why this should be?
Celery can also require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Leeks here are not as dirty as they were in the US, and I don't know why.
It does show that they don't have to be dirty. I am a leek lover for sure
and have worked with them a lot. I tell my students if they are very dirty
and the recipe will work this way, cut them into rings and dump them into a
big bowl of salted water. Use your hands like a washing machine to
agititate them, let the dirt settle, then lift them up out of the water into
a colander. Repeat as necessary.

Bath always, as showers don't work. Salt seems to work a bit like soap to
loosen the dirt.

Giusi said:

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggionews:3eEAi.30318$Bv1.4712@trnddc06...

Quoted message said:

Hello, All!

Quoted message said:

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing vegetables but
today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was reminded that leeks are
perhaps the filthiest vegetables on sale. As usual, the leeks I bought
were covered with soil, organic I hope! I wonder why this should be?
Celery can also require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

Quoted message said:

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Leeks here are not as dirty as they were in the US, and I don't know why.
It does show that they don't have to be dirty. I am a leek lover for sure
and have worked with them a lot. I tell my students if they are very dirty
and the recipe will work this way, cut them into rings and dump them into a
big bowl of salted water. Use your hands like a washing machine to
agititate them, let the dirt settle, then lift them up out of the water into
a colander. Repeat as necessary.

Bath always, as showers don't work. Salt seems to work a bit like soap to
loosen the dirt.

Hello James,

I am new on this newgroup kind of stuff - I also love leeks very much
and grow it myself. The easiest way to wash leeks:

Make a slit lengthwise through the white parts of the leek but do not
cut all the way through
Rinse the leeks under running water, separating the leaves starting
from the out parts to the inner parts, just sliding your finger along
to loosen the dirt.
This way all of the dirt will come out and you can now use the leeks
the way you want.

Moeke

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:3eEAi.30318$Bv1.4712@trnddc06...

Quoted message said:

Hello, All!

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing vegetables but
today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was reminded that leeks are
perhaps the filthiest vegetables on sale. As usual, the leeks I bought
were covered with soil, organic I hope! I wonder why this should be?
Celery can also require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

If you've seen the way they grow, you'd understand why they're dirty. If the
soil was moist when they were harvested, they'll be dirtier. If dry, they'll
be cleaner. Oh well.

In article <3eEAi.30318$Bv1.4712@trnddc06>,

James Silverton said:

Hello, All!

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing
vegetables but today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was
reminded that leeks are perhaps the filthiest vegetables on
sale. As usual, the leeks I bought were covered with soil,
organic I hope! I wonder why this should be? Celery can also
require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Tsk.

Food is grown in the dirt.

It gets dirt on it.

Live with it.

If you don't like it, buy fresh frozen or canned.

I'd rather wash my food thanks!

What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares you?
Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
Get some dirt under your fingernails.

Grow the hell up!
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares you?
Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
Get some dirt under your fingernails.

Grow the hell up!
--

Um. I hate buying really dirty produce, too. If I wanted dirt, I would
grow my own.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Giusi said:

"James Silverton" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:3eEAi.30318$Bv1.4712@trnddc06...

Quoted message said:

Hello, All!

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing vegetables but
today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was reminded that leeks are
perhaps the filthiest vegetables on sale. As usual, the leeks I bought
were covered with soil, organic I hope! I wonder why this should be?
Celery can also require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Leeks here are not as dirty as they were in the US, and I don't know why.
It does show that they don't have to be dirty. I am a leek lover for sure
and have worked with them a lot. I tell my students if they are very dirty
and the recipe will work this way, cut them into rings and dump them into a
big bowl of salted water. Use your hands like a washing machine to
agititate them, let the dirt settle, then lift them up out of the water into
a colander. Repeat as necessary.

Bath always, as showers don't work. Salt seems to work a bit like soap to
loosen the dirt.

Geez.

I just peel the leaves off one by one, rinse them off, THEN cut them up
as needed.

What's the big freakin' deal?

Try eating bunches of fresh spinach sometime if you want to deal with
REAL dirt that's hard to clean off!
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

"cybercat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares you?
Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
Get some dirt under your fingernails.

Grow the hell up!
--

Um. I hate buying really dirty produce, too. If I wanted dirt, I would
grow my own.

Um. In the list of ways to improve composting, adding moisture is an
important factor.

Um. Composting is the same as spoilage.

Um. If produce suppliers washed certain vegetables, moisture would be
trapped and spoilage would be a problem. Less shelf life equals less variety
available in stores.

Um. Where do you think farmers grown things? In big vats of sterilized
pearls?

Quoted message said:

Food is grown in the dirt.
It gets dirt on it.

I visited Ventura, CA once and immediately asked "What's that horrible
smell?"

Sheep [censored]. On the celery fields.

<Mitch@...> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Food is grown in the dirt.
It gets dirt on it.

I visited Ventura, CA once and immediately asked "What's that horrible
smell?"

Sheep [censored]. On the celery fields.

So?

In article <[email hidden]>, "cybercat" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares you?
Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
Get some dirt under your fingernails.

Grow the hell up!
--

Um. I hate buying really dirty produce, too. If I wanted dirt, I would
grow my own.

I have yet to buy a Leek that does not have a lot of soil at the base
and between the leaves.

Ever. Organic or otherwise.

I just take it for granted that I'm going to have to wash them. ;-)

I don't let it bother me.

Veggies are grown in dirt. Why does that scare people?
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "cybercat" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares
you?
Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
Get some dirt under your fingernails.

Grow the hell up!
--

Um. I hate buying really dirty produce, too. If I wanted dirt, I would
grow my own.

I have yet to buy a Leek that does not have a lot of soil at the base
and between the leaves.

Ever. Organic or otherwise.

You hereby have my permission to urinate on anyone who thinks organic means
no dirt on the produce. :-)

In article <[email hidden]>,

JoeSpareBedroom said:

<Mitch@...> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Food is grown in the dirt.
It gets dirt on it.

I visited Ventura, CA once and immediately asked "What's that horrible
smell?"

Sheep [censored]. On the celery fields.

So?

So our food often has more than just dirt on it. ;-)

A good reason to wash it even if it has no "visible" dirt on it.
<vbeg>

That's reality.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <3eEAi.30318$Bv1.4712@trnddc06>,

James Silverton said:

Hello, All!

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing
vegetables but today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was
reminded that leeks are perhaps the filthiest vegetables on
sale. As usual, the leeks I bought were covered with soil,
organic I hope! I wonder why this should be? Celery can also
require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Tsk.

Food is grown in the dirt.

It gets dirt on it.

Live with it.

If you don't like it, buy fresh frozen or canned.

I'd rather wash my food thanks!

What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares you?
Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
Get some dirt under your fingernails.

Grow the hell up!
--
Peace, Om

We had a customer once that requested that we plant the large pots on her
deck. I inquired if she would like some vegetables included in the
plantings -- tomatoes, parsley, eggplant and the like. She gave me a
horrified look and declared that she didn't eat anything that was grown in
dirt. I still shake my head over that one. I don't know what would make
organic any more attractive than regular fertilizer. Organic is composted
vegetation and animal poo -- how is the thought of that more attractive?
Janet

"Janet B." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <3eEAi.30318$Bv1.4712@trnddc06>,

James Silverton said:

Hello, All!

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing
vegetables but today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was
reminded that leeks are perhaps the filthiest vegetables on
sale. As usual, the leeks I bought were covered with soil,
organic I hope! I wonder why this should be? Celery can also
require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Tsk.

Food is grown in the dirt.

It gets dirt on it.

Live with it.

If you don't like it, buy fresh frozen or canned.

I'd rather wash my food thanks!

What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares you?
Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
Get some dirt under your fingernails.

Grow the hell up!
--
Peace, Om

We had a customer once that requested that we plant the large pots on her
deck. I inquired if she would like some vegetables included in the
plantings -- tomatoes, parsley, eggplant and the like. She gave me a
horrified look and declared that she didn't eat anything that was grown in
dirt. I still shake my head over that one. I don't know what would make
organic any more attractive than regular fertilizer. Organic is composted
vegetation and animal poo -- how is the thought of that more attractive?
Janet

Organic or not, it's still grown in soil, unless she thought all her produce
came from hydroponic growers.

In article <[email hidden]>,

JoeSpareBedroom said:

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "cybercat" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote
> What's the matter with you that a little dirt on your veggies scares
> you?
> Perhaps you need to get out into a garden sometime and grow your own!
> Get some dirt under your fingernails.
>
> Grow the hell up!
> --

Um. I hate buying really dirty produce, too. If I wanted dirt, I would
grow my own.

I have yet to buy a Leek that does not have a lot of soil at the base
and between the leaves.

Ever. Organic or otherwise.

You hereby have my permission to urinate on anyone who thinks organic means
no dirt on the produce. :-)

<giggles>

No S***?
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Veggies are grown in dirt. Why does that scare people?

I missed the part where anyone sounded scared. I just find really dirty
store-bought produce damned inconvenient, likely because it is often
so expensive. For that price they can damned well wash the stuff.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Janet B. said:

We had a customer once that requested that we plant the large pots on her
deck. I inquired if she would like some vegetables included in the
plantings -- tomatoes, parsley, eggplant and the like. She gave me a
horrified look and declared that she didn't eat anything that was grown in
dirt. I still shake my head over that one. I don't know what would make
organic any more attractive than regular fertilizer. Organic is composted
vegetation and animal poo -- how is the thought of that more attractive?
Janet

<lol>

There are always hydroponics...

if you want to pay the price.

I sometimes purchase heads of Hydroponic Boston Butter lettuce from HEB
for $2.99 per head.

BUT, that head is 3 times the size of a normal Boston Butter head and
still has the roots attached. I've had it last (crisp and fresh) for 3
weeks if I kept water in the root well that comes with the packaging so
it's been worth it. :-)

I'll have to take jpegs next time I get one.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

James Silverton said:

In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to growing
vegetables but today I made some Vichysoisse soup and I was
reminded that leeks are perhaps the filthiest vegetables on
sale. As usual, the leeks I bought were covered with soil,
organic I hope! I wonder why this should be? Celery can also
require careful cleaning but hardly ever as much as leeks.

In leeks, the most prized part is the white part.
To get as much white part as possible, dirt is
piled up around the base of the plant as it grows,
to shield it from sunlight. That's why so much
dirt gets trapped inside the plant.

I suppose it would be possible to put some other
kind of light shield around the base of the plant,
but that would cost much more than simply heaping
up dirt around the plant. If people would pay more
for "dirtless" leeks, farmers could grow them that
way. But I doubt that demand exists for such a
product at any reasonable price.

"cybercat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Omelet" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Veggies are grown in dirt. Why does that scare people?

I missed the part where anyone sounded scared. I just find really dirty
store-bought produce damned inconvenient, likely because it is often
so expensive. For that price they can damned well wash the stuff.

Um. No, washing is a bad idea for many vegetables, for reasons I taught you
earlier.