Sulfur on grapes make them inedible

April 8, 2018 1:43 PM

Over the last, I dunno, ten years or so I have noticed that any and all table grapes from the grocery store leave a sulfur smell on my hands. It doesn't seem to matter how long or with what I wash them and soak them in, I can't get them clean. I know it is a treatment for preventing mold, but does anyone know any way I can get the grapes clean?

Things I've tried: soaking in water, washing and soaking in veggie wash, washing and soaking in a dilute vinegar solution. Peeling them would still expose my hands to the stuff on the peels and would still make my hands smell, and would be too much trouble anyway. I also want to say, the internet says sulfur dioxide has been applied to grapes since the 1920s but it's only been in the last 10 years or so that I've noticed it, so if it was there before it must not have been very strong. Regardless of what the internet says, tap water is not removing this smell. I'd really like to be able to eat grapes, please help! P.S. yes it's on organic grapes too as far as I can tell.

posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

I think I've read that soaking in warm salt water is the only way to really remove residues from grocery store produce.
posted by tobascodagama at 1:50 PM on April 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

You can try washing them in water and baking soda. I find baking soda is good for removing a lot of treatment that is applied to fruit. The soft grittiness helps. I don't know how you'd avoid touching them while washing (and then rinsing them). Rubber or plastic gloves (taken from a deli counter) perhaps?
posted by sardonyx at 2:37 PM on April 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

Sounds like a great opportunity to eat some grapes with chopsticks - my go-to 'I wanna keep my hands clean' implement! Rinse on the stem wearing gloves, get good with chopsticks.
posted by DSime at 7:55 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

would Organic grapes have it on? There are lots of post-growing treatments that Organic foods can't use but normal ones do. I met a man who'd worked in New Zealand who wouldn't touch fruit unless he'd grown it because of the stuff they spray it with to preserve it. (What made it weird was he was Welsh not Kiwi, he went to work for a friend.)
posted by maiamaia at 11:45 AM on April 9, 2018

nb the organic catalogue used to sell a special wash for washing the nasty pesticides etc off your food, i didn't use it much but it didn't leave any taste and it was enough to last forever
posted by maiamaia at 11:46 AM on April 9, 2018

Try eating them with a fork.
posted by GoblinHoney at 12:00 PM on April 9, 2018

Sulfur is commonly used on grapes to prevent fungus. There are sulfur formulations that are considered organic, so buying organic grapes isn't a way to completely avoid this issue. If you have access to a smaller scale, local grower, you may have better luck.
posted by Orrorin at 12:59 PM on April 16, 2018