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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Cider Question

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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Cider Question
  • Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:45:24 -0500

At 09:20 AM 8/24/2007, you wrote:
Someone mentioned using hydrogen peroxide as a wash for washing apples
prior to squeezing them for cider. So my question is: Where can anyone buy
hydrogen peroxide in bulk? Buying it in small bottles at the drug store can
be pretty spendy,

Jim,
My question would be: WHY would you want to wash apples with H2O2?

I truly think that many of the folks who advocate using it for purposes such as this don't have any idea of what it is, how it works, or what it does - I'm guessing they're thinking, "Well, if you can use it to 'disinfect' a wound, it must be good for sanitizing/disinfecting a multitude of things(including apples, livestock water tanks, etc.) - but 'it ain't necessarily so'.

The 'beauty', if you will, of using H2O2 to 'disinfect' a wound is that catalase enzymes in red blood cells and animal tissue cells - as well as some bacteria - will react with H2O2 to release oxygen, which is toxic to anaerobic bacteria such as the Clostridium species, which cause tetanus, gangrene, etc.
Beyond that, I'm not convinced of any of the other magical claims some folks put forward for it as a miracle supplement, etc. - but it does work pretty effectively to make dogs vomit, if you make 'em swallow a couple of ounces of it; it always amazed my clients who'd either rushed their dogs in to the clinic, or called, frantic on the phone, after they saw the dog eat something dangerous/toxic, like rat/mouse poison - squirt some H2O2 down 'em and get out of the way!!!!
I have some serious doubts about H2O2 having any significant or cost-effective benefit when used as a 'wash' for apples prior to pressing. If you've got so much surface contamination that it's a concern for you, I'd much rather see you use some nice clean water.

Lucky

Lucky




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