What you see: Your potato looks relatively normal on the outside, but when you cut into it, you discover a dark cavern. When you more closely inspect the
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Jar lid didn’t pop and there’s sauce stuck to the rim
What you see: You open a new jar of shelf-stable pasta sauce and notice some sauce stuck to the outside of the rim. You open the jar and it makes a dull noise,
Brown spots on grapefruit
What you see: Brown, irregularly shaped splotches on your grapefruit. What it is: Most likely, this is simply an old grapefruit. Some of the cells in the
Onion with a soft, brown center?
What you see: The center of your onion is brown and squishy. What it is: Bacteria is breaking down layers of the onion. This condition is called “center rot.”
Metal lid doesn’t pop when you open jar?
What you see: You opened a glass jar and its metal lid didn’t pop.What it is: If it’s a button lid that was supposed to pop, it’s a problem. If the lid doesn’t
Complete cauliflower cake
Check out this beautiful cake, made using every bit of the cauliflower--stalks, leaves and all! Christina Badaracco, a resident of Washington, D.C., made
Cook with what you have and win prizes! The 2026 Cooking Challenge is on!
It's on! The 2026 Food Waste Prevention Week Cooking Challenge is open for your entries! Between now and Oct. 6, anytime you make a dish that: You're
Wrinkly mango?
What you see: A wrinkly mango. What it is: A mango that’s probably both overripe and dehydrated. Eat or toss: Peel, give it a taste and eat if it tastes
Desserts to make when you need to clear out your pantry
So your kitchen is stuffed with ingredients, but somehow there's not a treat in sight. Not to worry—check out these recipes for inspiration on how to conjure
Bits of egg carton stuck to shell
What you see: Little bits of the carton stuck to your egg. What it is: Moisture caused little bits of carton to stick to the egg. Eat or toss: Eat! If you
Opened jar of pickles, past its printed date
What you see: Old pickles, past their best-by date. The jar is opened. What it is: Old pickles. Eat or toss: Eat, probably. Inspect, first with your eyes
In the WaPo: Test your ability to walk the line between food waste and food safety
Check out my latest quiz in The Washington Post! This quiz tests your ability to navigate both food waste and food safety. It's deliberately tricky to
Curling brown scars on your cucumber?
What you see: A twisty, curly scar pattern on your cucumber.What it is: Likely healed damage from some hungry insects.Eat or toss: Peel and eat! Lacy brown
Round, brown “stains” on outside of pepper?
What you see: Brown rings, marks or stains, but no scar tissue, rot or other damage on your peppers. The rings won’t wash off. What it is: Superficial,
Sweet potato that’s sunken on the outside and has odd circles on the inside
What you see: Orange and white circles inside your sweet potato. Parts of the outside may be wrinkly and sunken; the sweet potato doesn’t seem like it’s
The best and easiest cranberry crisp (and it can help clear your pantry!)
Back in November, did the grocery store convince you to buy two bags of cranberries? One for Thanksgiving and one to “freeze for later”? I mean, I get that they
