How briny should the water be when soaking broccoli to remove bugs?

Question

I've seen advice to drop homegrown broccoli in a pot of salted water for a while so the bugs come out.

What's the right salt:water ratio and how long should I soak?

Answer 1

The only number I've ever heard was 4-6 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water, but that's just something a friend told me, they might've made it up. I've never actually seen any bugs on broccoli - organic or otherwise - so when I wash it I usually just shake in about 1/2 tsp into the bowl.

EDIT: Here's a site that says 1 tsp per quart.

Answer 2

Ah... I remember doing this growing up. Usually used a small handful of table salt in a sink full of water, and the worms would be floating on the top after about 5-10 minutes.

Most of the worms.

Sorry I can't give you a more precise ratio; I actually suspect soaking in water does more good than the salt - the worms don't swim.

At least, most of them don't.

Answer 3

It doesn't matter. Salt is cheap, throw a good handful in. Broccoli won't absorb salt, so any brine will remain on the surface. Just rinse it off.

I've found the same with eggplant -- it's impossible to oversalt if you rinse it off.