Organic vs Non-Organic Fruits and Vegetables

As some of you may have noticed, I did not post a blog last week. The main reason for this is that this is the busy season for catering and cooking with graduation parties and the wedding season coming into full swing, Because of this, I will move into a bi-weekly blog and perhaps go back to a weekly blog after the summer.

Speaking of summer, this is the time where local fruit and vegetables are starting to appear at farm stands and that got me thinking about Organic foods. I am reminded of when I was in culinary school and one of my Chef Instructors asked us if we knew the difference between regular and organic vegetables. His answer was “about $1.29 a pound!”

All kidding aside, there are times when it does make sense to buy organic food and to spend the extra money, The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington D.C. advocacy group, has put together a “dirty dozen” of fruits and vegetables that should be purchased as organic when you can.

They are:

Fruit

• Apples
• Cherries
• Chilean Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

Vegetables

• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach

The reason behind this is somewhat obvious. These products have a thin skin that is easily penetrated by pesticide and we also generally eat the entire outside of the product.
There also recommend that some other fruits and vegetables are not worth spending extra on, these are:

Fruit

• Bananas
• Kiwis
• Mangos
• Papaya
• Pineapples

Vegetables

• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Onions
• Peas

These products generally do not contain pesticide residue and many have skins that protect the actual food from contamination. Another way to avoid pesticides is to buy from local farmer markets or buy what’s in season.

I happen to live in an area of New England where we have an abundance of great local produce and not only are the prices generally as good or better then the big food stores, the quality is always fresher. You should also eat a variety of different fruits and vegetables as the different types of food contain different pesticide residue so you are not over exposing yourself to one particular pesticide.

Of course, the best option is to start and grow your own organic garden.


This year my wife Margit and I have joined a local community garden and have most of our rows planted. There is a lot of work involved in this and my hat goes off to the all the farmers out there that do this for a living and also to those pioneers that had to do it to feed their families. I’ll keep everyone posted on how we make out with the garden as the season progresses.
Until next time, stay away from the dirty dozen if you can. Otherwise, be sure to wash your fruits and vegetables thoroughly with cold water.