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Uninvited Guest: A Baby Slug in Our Beets

2008_09_15-snail.jpgIf we ever needed a reminder that our food comes from a farm, it arrived last week, falling out of a bunch of beets we brought home from our CSA...

 
 

Fortunately, this baby slug was a tiny one. If he had been a full-sized, we might not have been so apt to let him crawl all over our thumb. Eventually, we gently placed him on the outer windowsill and watched him crawl down the side of our building.

This is the type of surprise you get when you're cooking at home, using pesticide-free ingredients that came out of the ground that day. A good thing, we think, even if not the prettiest sight.

Anyone else found critters on their produce?

Related: Fruit Flies! What They Are and How To Get Rid of Them

(Image: Elizabeth Passarella)

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GREEN IDEAS, Organics, Ingredients - Vegetables, insect, pesticides, slug

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Comments (8)

Never a slug, but we'd sometimes find little worms on our ears of corn back in California. Bleh, wish I hadn't done my usual morning ritual of clicking over to the kitchn while eating breakfast. =\

posted by OneWallKitchen on September 15th 2008 at 5:12am
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I tended to get inchworms as hitch-hikers in my CSA basket. It definitely reinforced the need to wash everything thoroughly as soon as it arrived.

posted by Michelle of Montreal on September 15th 2008 at 5:29am
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Aphids in broccoli. EWWWWWWWWW.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on September 15th 2008 at 5:40am
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Yeah, worms (caterpillars?) in the corn here in MA, too. The CSA guy said they have farmer's market clients who LOOK for the worms so they know it's truly organic.

posted by katef on September 15th 2008 at 5:56am
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Inchworm in broccoli---- didn't find it until AFTER it had been steamed, still squirming. I still can't get it out of my head, years later. :(

posted by miriamjudith on September 15th 2008 at 6:31am
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you shoulda salted that mofo. Sluggy types need to die horrible deaths.

posted by chusmabilly on September 15th 2008 at 7:07am
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Ugh.. when I was receiving Urban Organic in NY, I did find a slug in my kale once, and promptly threw it out. I quickly realized that these crawlies inhabit our veggies in the earth, and it's normal, but I was so grossed out at the time.

A few weeks later, I got the aphids in the broccoli, which were of course infesting the entire box of produce, all of which had to be tossed. That ended my subscription, and reminded me of the joy of shopping for myself!

posted by cheflaura on September 15th 2008 at 7:34am
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Bugs on food is normal. MOst of the time they are harmless and are just along for the ride. When I pick a bunch of veggies from the garden, I usually hose them down outside and then bring them in after trimming off the unwanted parts (like carrot tops). It reduces the chances of bugs coming inside, but frankly, they don't really do any damage.
It's not like you're getting your CSA box and it's full of Rats! THAT would turn me off!

posted by revolution9 on September 15th 2008 at 8:36am
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