How to Wash Grapes the Right Way

Before you grab a snack, it’s important to know how to wash grapes—and why they need a healthy scrub! Lucky for you, everything you need to wash them is probably in your pantry right now. Before you grab a bunch, follow one of our two different methods to wash grapes.

Why You Need to Wash Grapes

Grapes are a part of the “Dirty Dozen,” meaning they’re on the list of fruits and vegetables most likely to be covered in pesticides. When produce has such serious chemicals, you need to take extra time and care to clean them really well. The good news? The cleaning supplies you need to wash grapes are food-safe and probably already in your kitchen!

When Is the Best Time to Wash Grapes?

It’s tempting to clean your grape bunches all at once, but the best time to wash grapes is right before you eat them. The excess moisture from washing ahead of time will give bacteria more moisture to grow, speeding up the aging process.

How to Wash Grapes

If you want to ensure your grapes are super clean, try one of the methods below. Go with whatever is in your pantry, but always ensure you have baking soda on hand because it also makes a great grape-cleaning ingredient.

Use Salt and Baking Soda to Wash Grapes

Gather the bunches of grapes you’d like to eat and rinse them off in cold water. Place the grapes in a bowl and sprinkle them with one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of baking soda. Use your fingers to gently shake and scrub the grapes for about one minute. Then place the grapes in a fine-mesh sieve or colander and rinse with cold water. Pat dry and eat!

Use Vinegar and Baking Soda to Wash Grapes

If you’re a big believer in cleaning with vinegar, this method is for you. Place the amount of grapes you’d like to eat in a bowl. Fill the bowl with enough water to cover the grapes. Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of vinegar (you can use distilled or apple cider vinegar). Use your fingers to shake the grapes around in the solution to evenly coat them. Let the grapes sit in the solution for 10-15 minutes.

Take them out of the bowl, place them in a sieve or colander, and rinse with cool water.

How to Store Grapes

When properly stored, your produce will last awhile. Try one of these grape storage strategies to maintain the ultimate crispy grape bunch.

Produce Keepers

Invest in a quality produce keeper for your weekly grocery haul. Produce keepers are designed to help fruit and vegetables avoid spoilage for as long as possible, and there are so many great containers to choose from. An added bonus? Using produce keepers can help achieve a perfectly organized refrigerator.

Bluapple

One of the reasons why produce can expire so quickly is due to the naturally-occurring ethylene gas that fruits and vegetables emit as they ripen. Bluapple was designed to combat that issue. This apple-shaped container has inserts that absorb ethylene gas to extend your produce’s life for as long as possible, which is probably why it has a 4.3-star rating with over 7,000 reviews on Amazon.

Crisper Drawer

You can also store grapes in their original bag, in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer. While this may not be as effective for prolonging life as a produce keeper might be, it’s better than storing in an airtight container. Just don’t make the produce mistake of storing your grapes directly next to other fruit or everything will spoil faster because of the excess ethylene gas.

Next Up: Learn exactly how to wash mushrooms.