Vinegar Soak

I've recently read that you can/should soak your fruits in a mix of warm water with vinegar for 10 minutes to remove toxins? chemicals, wax coatings etc. This also helps the fruit last longer (inhibits oxidation) Is this accurate? and will the fruit absorb the vinegar? Is that an issue for ekkies or do they like vinegar?

A bit of vinegar isn't bad, and can be beneficial. But I wouldn't go so far as to clean veggies with it. If you're worried about chemicals on the food, just wash them in the sink.

I usually soak the pretty chicken's veggies for her chop in a sink full of water with a little bit of vinegar added to it. I let them soak for 20 or 30 minutes, then I rinse them really well. She doesn't seem to mind that they are done that way, she eats everything. Except for peas, I'm pretty sure she hates them. Also, I would use cold water and vinegar. I have heard that if you mix hot water and vinegar, it can release fumes that can be harmful to our fids.

OutlawedSpirit said:

I usually soak the pretty chicken's veggies for her chop in a sink full of water with a little bit of vinegar added to it. I let them soak for 20 or 30 minutes, then I rinse them really well. She doesn't seem to mind that they are done that way, she eats everything. Except for peas, I'm pretty sure she hates them. Also, I would use cold water and vinegar. I have heard that if you mix hot water and vinegar, it can release fumes that can be harmful to our fids.

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Correct you do not want it heated. A lot use ACV to clean there cages and veggies.

Somewhat related, I always add lemon or lime juice to my chop if I'm not adding citrus pieces, to help keep everything fresh, especially if I'm going to be refridgerating or freezing anything.

You can also buy powdered citric acid (also called sour salt) that can be mixed with water to use in place of vinegar.

I thought cleaning with organic solutions was a good thing? I usually sterilize my sponges with vinegar in the microwave and run cycles through the coffee maker to remove lime and calcium deposits. I know I think it smells bad, but the birds cant handle the vinegar etiher when it's heated? I also make a homemade bbq sauce that has a substantial amount of vinegar in it (you can tell im making it when you walk in the front door!) Are there any other cooking odors/organic solutions that are not bird safe besides vinegar? When is it ok, and when isnt it? And yes, im aware of teflon issues.

One of the tell-tail signs of a great cook is that their kitchen has a great fan that removes the vast majority of the fumes that commonly occur during cooking and clean-up.

The goal in washing Veggies with plain water is to remove any chemicals that are on the surface. It there are chemicals within the Veggies, its time to change your buy source. To remove chemicals within the Veggies requires breaking down the structure of the Veggies that not only stripes whatever you are trying to remove, but also the good stuff, which is the reason you purchased them.

I can claim to be a great pet mom, the cook part...not so much. I have a fan, but it's noisy so i dont use it My husband hates veggies, except frozen peas and lately schedules have been such that most meals are Costco chicken or takeout. Im seriously hoping i start eating better when my baby arrives. However, i DO have good pans (and knives) from when I aspired to be better than average in the kitchen. I have 2 cast iron skillets, and the rest is heavy clad stainless...the good stuff from 25 years ago---and no teflon.

Love it! I got the same old stuff. My Grandmother's cast iron stuff. Saw a dishwasher only once, never did live that one down! Also her stainless stuff.

Anyway, if you got a fan, i.e. the hole in the wall with electrical service, they are really easy to do. A true DIY project. Take the cover off and take measurements and phone pictures and off to the Big Box Store. If they don't have anything, try the local Hardware Store, you may have to order it. NOTE: Unplug or switch the breaker off!

In the mean time, the noise is commonly a build-up on the blades, Most of the older fans allowed the removal of the fan blade. If so, do a quick wash in the sink and then into the dish washer. Be careful not to bend the fan blades. Double check the direction of the blades before removing and reinstall the same way. This will normally reduce some of the noise, but not all. If you are into this stuff. You can make minor changes to the fan blade angle to reduce the noise even more. I would recommend not playing since things can go the other way quickly. After all its old.

coopedup said:

I've recently read that you can/should soak your fruits in a mix of warm water with vinegar for 10 minutes to remove toxins? chemicals, wax coatings etc. This also helps the fruit last longer (inhibits oxidation) Is this accurate? and will the fruit absorb the vinegar? Is that an issue for ekkies or do they like vinegar?

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I doubt Ekkies do this in there natural habitat lol

That's kind of the point of my question since we have them out of the wild and are feeding them foods that are grown in commercial environments where topical (wax) sprays, pesticides, fertilizers, etc may be present or applied to the produce. Dont know about you but since I dont plan on trekking over to New Guinea to grab some food for my bird this week I'll have to rely on the local grocer. Pretty expensive plane ticket, not to mention the 26 hour round trip flight (where the food would likely spoil even if customs would let me bring it in)