How to identify nitrates in cucumbers

Nitrates in cucumbers - a fairly common phenomenon. No one is surprised by the presence of salts of nitric acid (nitrates), especially in the early fruits that are full of markets. It is impossible to say with certainty that such cucumbers can not grow on your site.

Determination of nitrates in cucumbers

Nitrates enter plants not only from fertilizers, but also from the soil. Without harming the fruits themselves, nitrates (already in the form of nitrites) harm directly the body of the consumer.

Product selection

Each of us came across the purchase of cucumbers on the market or in a supermarket, without thinking about whether we choose good vegetables. The first signs of cucumber naturalness are their shape, smell, skin color and thorns.

Perfectly shaped, elastic and with a rich green-skinned fruit - just a hoax for our eyes. In fact, this is the first sign that they contain a huge amount of chemistry. On such fruits, most likely, there will soon be a variety of spots and signs of rot.

These fruits are far from ideal shape, but they smell very natural. On the skin of such fruits, the color of which should have a herbal tint, there should not be very rough thorns.

Reduced nitrate levels in cucumbers

The standard content of nitric acid salts for cucumbers on open ground is 150 mg per 1 kg. For fruits grown in greenhouse conditions, this rate is much more - 400 mg per 1 kg.

It is almost impossible to completely avoid the use of chemistry, but it is quite realistic to reduce it if you follow simple rules and advice.

• Carefully wash the vegetables and, preferably, peel them off and remove the attachment point to the stem, because it contains the most harmful substances.
• When grown at home, make sure that there is a sufficient amount of potassium in the soil, which prevents the accumulation of nitric acid salts in fruits.
• Soaking fruits for 10 minutes in cold water also reduces nitrate levels well, as they tend to dissolve.

Using nitratometer

Nitrate levels can be determined

A nitratometer (tester) is an indispensable thing in the household, though not cheap enough. It will provide an opportunity to determine not only the presence of nitrates in the fruits, but also their number.

This device is quite easy to use: it is necessary to stick it in the pulp, preferably closer to the skin, and all indicators will be recorded and displayed on the screen. It must be remembered that the norm, safe for health, is 5 mg per 1 kilogram of weight.

Test Strips

Using such a method to determine the presence of chemistry in the fruit is quite a budget option. The strips can be purchased at the pharmacy and be tested at home. For this, the cucumber should be cut into two parts and attached to one of them a strip.

The amount of chemistry will determine the degree of blue in the dough strip. The brighter the color - the greater the number of substances.

Liquid reagent (diphenylamine)

The verification method is also based on obtaining a more or less saturated blue color, which will help determine the level of chemistry in the fruit.

To do this, use a solution of hydrochloric acid, which drip on the cut of the fruit and get instant results. Diphenylamine can be bought practically at any pharmacy, and, moreover, it is completely inexpensive.

Conclusion

Know how to determine the amount of nitrates in cucumbers, or other fruits and vegetables, it is necessary for everyone who cares a little about their health. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to find fruits without chemistry, especially among early varieties. But using some tricks will help you avoid getting excessive amounts of harmful substances into your body.

Inspection of cucumbers for nitrates with the SOEKS environmental tester; testing of cucumbers grown in the country by hydroponics for nitrates; Testing for nitrates of Chelyabinsk cucumbers grown by the Chinese; testing with the ecological tester SOEX 2 for nitrates

There are also a variety of methods for checking the availability of chemicals in fruits: from budgetary ones to fairly expensive ones, among which everyone can find a suitable option and preserve their health.