Whole roasted cauliflower- how is it kosher

amother

↑ Dill

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 4:26 am

amother Maroon wrote:

I read in a reputable kashrus agencies guidelines that I can take a handful if triple rinsed leafy greens (baby spinach, garden mix, etc) check that Handful and if it’s bug free I can consider the rest clean.
Well, I did that and enjoyed a half a lb of the spring garden mix.
Today I took it out again and was about to have some salad and Hashem made me look. I found some tiny six legged creatures.
How do I process that?
I trust this agency for many things as most of you do as well. Not sure how to proceed….

I checked 2 heads of cabbage before simchas torah. They were very clean and I found 2 thrips, one on each head. One of the bugs was all the way inside the middle of the cabbage.
You can't assume anything as far as bugs!!

Mommyflower

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 4:37 am

I must digress…For most of my childhood and at least half my married life, no one was obsessed with bugs the way they are today. We ate strawberries, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, onions, garlic, all fruits. We weren’t big cabbage eaters, but my grandmother and great grandmother certainly made it. My mother soaked lettuce to remove dirt and I guess any bugs were removed. No one talked about light boards and thrips cloths and we all kept kosher. I have trouble signing on with this. I’m not a Rav, but I have difficulty believing that there aren’t organisms in everything we eat and somehow we have kosher food. Resume your chat.

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 4:52 am

Mommyflower wrote:

There are a lot more bugs pests and infestations than in the past. Things change.
You cannot compare it to the past.
There is much more awareness today and therefore new devices to facilitate the checking.
It's not forbidden to eat bacteria but bugs have never been permitted.

Brit in Israel ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 4:56 am

Mommyflower wrote:

By me it was completely opposite, growing up we checked everything Nd found bugs. From what I remember in cabbage, mushrooms and peaches we found bugs. Strawberries we soaked an often had bugs in the water. Lettuce my parents only bought the ready checked ones. This was all when I was a kid.
Just before Sukkos I was using peppers freshly bought and looked good and all of them I think 7, had worms and lots of webbing inside. A neighbour also sent a picture on the group of a bug in the pepper....
Guidelines for cleaning veg are there for a reason.
Besides for asparagus we ate the same veg as you wrote above including alot of cabbage and mushrooms. if your parents weren't aware of it they wouldn't know and you also wouldn't know.
Someone who has been living in Israel was telling me how nice it was to go to the US and have fresh fruit for so cheap, for breakfast everyday she had raspberries.... She had no idea you can't eat fresh raspberries as it was never discussed by her family....

amother

↑ Black ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 5:04 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

How do you know there are more bugs now than there used to be?

amother

↑ Hotpink ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 5:09 am

Mommyflower wrote:

Government banned a lot of pesticides, hence increased infestation, but we were unfortunately very unaware. I grew up checking certain things but other things like asparagus we had no idea how infested they were. I also had a Rav in high school who made us aware of infestation and taught us a lot about checking.

amother

Magnolia ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 5:15 am

Mommyflower wrote:

Even the non Jews are aware. Remember the viral tick tok videos of strawberries crawling with bugs? I’ve watched someone take good quality strawberries, wash them well, and then show me and several others the numerous aphids still crawling on them.

In your great grandmother’s and grandmother’s generation they used DDT on the crops, a powerful chemical that virtually eliminated bugs. In the ‘70s it was banned after they discovered how harmful it was, and ever since bugs have been there in droves. Some people just never got the new memo.

amother

↑ Bluebonnet

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 5:20 am

amother Orchid wrote:

I always wonder how people use basil. when you do this with basil it tastes soap and weird. Basil needs to be used fresh without even being rinsed for a decent flavor.

I do this with basil, doesn't taste soapy and never had issues with weird taste

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 5:29 am

amother Black wrote:

How do you know there are more bugs now than there used to be?

Selling and distribution globally spread infestations globally. This is a confirmed fact.
Bugs becoming resistent to pesticides. Effective pesticides being banned.
Infestations just get worse and worse.

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 5:32 am

Brit in Israel wrote:

There are no fresh raspberries over here.
They are notorious for being extremely infested.

amother

↑ Catmint

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 5:59 am

Mommyflower wrote:

I think information was shared a lot less.
I grew up eating everything.

My dh grew up in a kashrus agency/rav home. He ate no lettuce, cabbage, leafy, broccoli, etc. food growing up.

amother

↑ Ebony

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 6:22 am

Mommyflower wrote:

The explanation for that is that the technology and systems behind food development changed. Highways are now closer to farm land. Studies have been done that indicate that the proximity of vehicles and pollution to the land where the produce is growing has exponentially increased the bug numbers. This is in addition to the signifying reduction in pesticide use. Coupled together, you have more bugs. I heard this from a kashrut professional.

amother

↑ Lilac ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 6:55 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

Yes, this is correct. Bugs that uses to only live on one side of the world are now spread all over - just as they grow fruits & veg in one place and ship it to the other side of the world.

nicole81 ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 7:30 am

I've also seen bugs spread in supermarkets. There are weeks at a time where I know a specific supermarket is filled with aphids. It got so bad once that I found them on my carrots, a veg that is usually clean as can be from bugs. And it's not just one place. Some weeks I stop shopping from one place, other weeks, another place. They just jump around from display to display even if they came in uninfested.

↑ nicole81 ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 7:40 am

amother Broom wrote:

My question is: you don't eat in restaurants? Buy takeout salads? Buy a panini with lettuce in it? These places aren't washing and checking their produce, each leaf by hand. They're relying on heterim. So why can't I in my own kitchen?

I don't eat out but I own a vegetarian and vegan friendly takeout place and prechecked produce delivery service. I don't rely on any heterim. I fully check everything as per the star k and my mashgiach checks my work.

That said, it's not foolproof. Turns out on of my suppliers had an infestation and even though I fully checked everything with a thrip cloth and light box and it all came out clean, a couple of my customers found bugs. I discontinued use of that supplier but even without heterim it's not possible to avoid all bugs, just most.

amother

↑ Black ↓

Wed, Oct 30 2024, 7:42 am

amother Broom wrote:

Why don't they check their lettuce? How do they get hashgacha?