You come home from the supermarket, put the perishables in the refrigerator, the dry goods in the pantry, and wash the fruit and vegetables right away but not all of them.

Most people would think there’s no need to wash oranges, bananas, or avocados, since we don’t eat the peel, right?

Unfortunately, germs spread easily, even onto fruit peels. We’ve probably all been to the grocery store and gave a produce item a nice squeeze before selecting it. When many people touch fruit without buying it, the fruit can easily become covered in germs from dirty hands. And when we slice and dice our fruit, these germs can sometimes transfer from the peel, to the knife, to the fruit, to our stomachs, and we may end up with a tummy ache or worse. Therefore, we need to wash all our produce to ensure we are getting the most out of our favorite fruits and vegetables.

Steps for washing avocados

1. Wash your hands. Remember what Mom always said? Wash your hands! This is especially important both before and after handling food.
2. Wash your cutting board. Wash the cutting board and utensils with hot water and dish soap before preparing the avocado. Even better, keep separate cutting boards for raw meats and for fruit and vegetables. This step is crucial to ensure you aren’t transferring contaminants from other food that was on your cutting board onto your freshly rinsed avocado.
3. Rinse your avocado. Start by running some cool or lukewarm water in your kitchen sink. There’s no need to use any kind of soap, dish liquid, or commercial produce wash. Clean water is enough. Rub the avocado gently with your hands to remove unwanted dirt and bacteria or use a vegetable brush to scrub the irregular rind to get to all the nooks and crannies.
4. Dry the avocado. Once your avocado is rinsed thoroughly, you can dry with a clean sheet of paper towel. Moisture is a condition in which bacteria can grow easily in, so it’s important to not let your avocados sit with moisture on them too long. Once your avocado is dried off, you are ready to place your clean avocado on your freshly sterilized cutting board and start to cut, slice and dice for your favorite guacamole recipe or meal!