If one were to submerge lettuce in a pot of boiling water, cover the pot with a lid, let the lettuce boil for a minute and then discard the water; would doing so remove all the bugs?
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I don’t know but i’m Intrigued if it would pose a kashrut problem l’chatchila.– Daniel RossFeb 10, 2019 at 18:15
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Is this on-topic?– DonielFFeb 10, 2019 at 18:38
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@DonielF Seems like a question about "general knowledge (science, etc.) as it relates directly to Judaism"– DanielFeb 10, 2019 at 19:17
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1@Daniel It’s a question about cleaning lettuce. Had he asked if this is a halachically acceptable method of checking, I’d have no issue. While we do allow Jewish Life questions, those are ones which it’s reasonable to assume Jews would know the answers due to it being a common issue that arises; this is such an obscure way of checking lettuce that I’m not sure if it qualifies.– DonielFFeb 10, 2019 at 19:19
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2I don't know what would happen. But I suggest an experiment. Take 4 lettuces that would be expected to be infested. Give 3 of them your boiling treatment. Then subject all of them to the bug-removal process “D Water Check” of the London Beis Din (see here). If you do not find any bugs in the boiled lettuces and you do find bugs in the unboiled lettuce, you might conclude that the boiling treatment works.– Avrohom YitzchokFeb 10, 2019 at 20:15
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1 Answer
The method you describe is not one of the recommended ones for checking lettuce. The critical issue is whether you would be killing bugs who would stay nested in the folds of the lettuce leaves.
See the OU guidelines on checking lettuce for instance
The insects most commonly found in open leaf lettuce are small green aphids or thrips. The leaves of the vegetable often camouflage these insects. The open structure of these vegetables allows insects to penetrate the entire head. Often, insects may be found between the innermost layers of leaves of an infested head. Therefore, each leaf must be washed and checked individually. Many of these varieties feature curly leaves with many folds in which the insects tend to hide. We therefore recommend that they be washed and checked with extreme caution.