James Silverton wrote:
> Mark wrote on Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:50:43 -0700:
>
> MT> James Silverton wrote:
> ??>>
> ??>> In principle I am in favor of natural approaches to
> ??>> growing vegetables but today I made some Vichysoisse soup
> ??>> and I was reminded that leeks are perhaps the filthiest
> ??>> vegetables on sale. As usual, the leeks I bought were
> ??>> covered with soil, organic I hope! I wonder why this
> ??>> should be? Celery can also require careful cleaning but
> ??>> hardly ever as much as leeks.
>
> MT> In leeks, the most prized part is the white part.
> MT> To get as much white part as possible, dirt is
> MT> piled up around the base of the plant as it grows,
> MT> to shield it from sunlight. That's why so much
> MT> dirt gets trapped inside the plant.
>
> That blanching may be the reason why leeks are so filthy but they are
> the dirtiest vegetable you can buy. Blanched celery is made the same way
> and is nothing like as dirty. Saying as others have done "Live with it!"
> is singularly unhelpful and contributes nothing useful to a discussion
> that was only a request for information. I do rinse all vegetables but
> nothing else needs dismemberment and careful rinsing like leeks.
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
>
>
Celery doesn't grow as tightly as do leeks, which is probably why
blanched celery still isn't as dirty as leeks, despite being grown in
the same fashion.