# A few worms won't hurt, right?



## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

Please tell me so. :hrm:

I was blanching broccoli from the garden for the first time ever tonight and saw a handful of little green worm floating in the boiling water. They were all sizes, big mommas to little babies and I'm afraid I might not have gotten them all. 

When I dunked the broccoli in the ice water I could no longer find the worms. Chances are 100% that I missed some. 

What do I do? Assume I've eaten a few in my life and just get on down the road? I have to admit I'm a little skeeved out by it.


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## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

Those little green worms can be a deal breaker. I just refuse to think about it, & go ahead & blanch & freeze & cook & eat. 

But now you've made me remember....GAAAACK!

Oh, wait, isn't that what cheese sauce is for?


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## Canning Girl (Jan 13, 2010)

Think of them as extra protein!


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## jmtinmi (Feb 25, 2009)

I think if you soak the fresh stuff in saltwater, the worms will work their way out of the produce.


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

jmtinmi said:


> I think if you soak the fresh stuff in saltwater, the worms will work their way out of the produce.


That is what the Ball Blue book says to do, and I did that yesterday with mine. Soaked it in salted water for 30 minutes, rinsed it real well, as I was blanching found two of the critters, fished them out with tongs and kept my mouth shut with the family. As Canning Girl said, just a little extra protein. 


Nancy


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

Precisely why I switched broccoli to a fall crop here. No more worm issues.


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

Been thinkin I should do the same here.
Nancy


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

Since those worms have lived in the broccoli their whole life, their diet is 100% broccoli. So you can think of it as eating broccoli in another form.

This is why I no longer grow broccoli at all.


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## Merit (Jul 15, 2009)

Yup, drown 'em, fish them out, cut up & freeze the broccoli and many months later maybe you can bring yourself to cook it up! You will eventually. And you can even bring yourself to eat it. Problem is....ya just never FORGET!!!!! This is actually the first year I did NOT plant broccoli. Maybe just an oversite....maybe a subconscious plot.


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## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

Note to self: broccoli should be a fall crop. 

I even did the whole companion planting in hopes of keeping pests down. 

I really don't want to buy broccoli. I bought a case labeled organic from the co op and the outside of the box read "grown in China'. I felt sick.

So I guess I have to decide between China grown broccoli or worms.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

OMG now I am wondering what I'm feeding my family when I cook up that frozen store-bought broccoli!!!


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## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

I would have laughed out loud if only my face hadn't been so hot from blushing!

When I first started dating the man that eventually became by dh, I wanted to prepare a really fresh, homegrown dinner for him as he had become very accustomed to fast food. It was the first time I had grown broccoli and the first cutting was a big part of the dinner menu. I didn't know about the salt water at the time, but nearly gagged when those little worms floated to the top as I soaked it in plain water. I just toughed it out, assuming that I had gotten all of them. DH absolute loved the broccoli and got up to help himself to seconds, but mortified me when he brought the colander to the table to show me about a half-dozen of those dead worms clinging to the colander!!!

I felt horrible - physically and socially.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Heh. I think if you look around on the net you will find recipes for the worms. TMEN had some I think.

The salt water SOAK (not just rinse) is what I missed this year when I rushed my kale. You also may be able to blast some off with a hose before you bring it in.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Does growing things under a floating row cover eliminate these are do they come from the ground?


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

See them white little moths? Them are what do it.


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## northergardener (Dec 12, 2007)

I am growing mine under floating row covers for exactly this reason this year. This is my first time to do this. I put the row cover on as I planted, so there are no moths or eggs inside the cover.


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

Thanks for the tip Northerngardner. That is a good idea, I bought some sheers at a yard sale for 25 cents each for frost protectors. Never thought about using them to keep the moths off the broccolli. I just cut the last of ours and had to break it into very small chunks and was almost tempted to feed it all to the chickens. But I got all the little buggers. 

Nancy


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## dezingg (Feb 25, 2010)

I've always wondered about ingesting bugs with home grown or wild produce. But then I found some bugs in my "clean" store bought produce. How much do you have to cook it to kill everything?


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