According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a minimum, potatoes should be rinsed with water before cutting for cooking. Since potatoes are firm, use a clean brush to scrub them. Do not use soap, bleach, disinfectants, or chemicals to clean produce.
There is no need to wash in a solution of bacterial soap or veggie wash. The magazine, Cooks Illustrated, did find with some fruits and vegetables that an acidic solution of vinegar and water helps disinfect, but scrubbing was pretty effective too.
Rinsing potatoes helps remove excess starch, so it is recommended to rinse the potatoes before cooking. To ensure even more starch is out of the way, it's recommended that they even be quickly rinsed after boiling. We recommend using hot water for rinsing after boiling and cold water prior to boiling.
First, be sure to rinse and scrub the potatoes. Next, cut the potatoes into thin strips. Then, put the strips into a large bowl, cover with distilled white vinegar, and let the potatoes soak for about 30 minutes. After the potatoes have soaked for 30 minutes, drain the vinegar and pat the potatoes dry.
Soak potatoes in cold water to loosen the dirt. A 15- to 30-minute soak should do the trick. Lift the potatoes out of the water, and scrub them with a vegetable brush under cold running water to remove the dirt. If peeling, proceed by removing the potato skins with a vegetable peeler.
The US Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and other scientists agree: use a cold water soak with baking soda to effectively help remove dirt, chemical residue, and other unwanted materials from your fresh vegetables and fruits.
White vinegar diluted with water can help disinfect potatoes, but simple water and scrubbing is just as effective. If the potatoes are very dirty, consider soaking them in a clean sink filled with water first. When peeling the potato, be sure to cut away any sprouts or discolorations.
Use 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Soak your fresh produce (vegetables, fruits, green leafy greens) for 10 minutes and then wash it with cold water. Use Baking Soda: Baking Soda is not disinfectant but it is very effective in cleaning off pesticide.
To keep them from turning brown or becoming mushy when cooked, add some white vinegar (1 Tbsp. per 2 cups water) before submerging the potatoes.
The best way to wash your potatoes is under running water. Either lukewarm or cool water will do. This will loosen any dirt particles on its jacket, or skin.
Boiling in hot water is just going to push around any dirt particles or sand. As far as scrubbing, just check a couple of the potatoes as a sample and if the eyes are deep they can easily trap excess dirt. If shallow you probably can get away from doing this step.
Potatoes soak up a lot of flavor, so salting the water prior to cooking is a good idea for the best taste. And you aren't limited to plain salted water for boiling your potatoes, either.
The soaking, Mr. Nasr said, is the secret to the crisp texture of the fries. It draws out the starch, making them more rigid and less likely to stick together.
Combine potatoes, 1 cup vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. kosher salt in a medium saucepan; add water to cover by 1”. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20–25 minutes; drain and pat dry.
I would recommend a thorough cleaning of your kitchen sink, then fill 1/2 full with cold water. Add the potatoes to soak, using a potato or vegetable brush, pick up each one and brush the eyes to remove any dirt or sand. Don't scrub too hard or the skin will go away too.
Cold Water Soak
A quick rinse under cold water can wash away much of the surface starch. More starch is removed from a cut potato than a whole peeled potato, because a greater surface area is exposed on cut potatoes. Soak them in cold water for as long as a few hours to remove more starch than by rinsing alone.
Baking soda, whose alkalinity helps to neutralize many common acidic pesticides, is generally thought to be the most effective produce wash.
The baking soda bath breaks down the potato's pectin and draws the starch to the surface, which promotes browning and the satisfying crispiness that only a perfectly roasted potato can deliver.
The only difference between cleaning vinegar and the distilled white vinegar is their levels of acidity. White vinegar is usually 95 percent water and 5 percent acid. By contrast, cleaning vinegar contains up to six percent acid and is around 20 percent stronger than regular white vinegar.
The potatoes get a double hit of vinegar: First, they are roasted in a simple vinaigrette, then are tossed with another smack of acidity just before serving. Use white-wine vinegar for a stronger vinegar flavor, or apple cider vinegar if you want a subtler flavor.
Soaking potatoes in 5% Acetic Acid Solution (vinegar) removed up to 100% of the pesticides. Diluted vinegar tested as being only marginally better than tap water for removing pesticide residues. Soak 10-20 minutes in SALT WATER.
Washing is vital since potatoes are root vegetables grown in the ground, and their skins can carry dirt, pesticides, and bacteria. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control recommends that you wash all produce, even those you can peel, like potatoes.
Fill a large bowl with about 8 cups of water. Add in 2 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and your fruits and vegetables. Let sit for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, gently scrub, rise, dry and enjoy!