What you see: Sprouts growing from your potato's "eyes." What it is: The potato trying to grow new potatoes! But the sprout may have higher concentrations of
Little white rings in your mango?
What you see: Tiny, white-ringed holes in your mango. What it is: Air bubbles in trace amounts of starchy, immature tissue. Eat or toss: Eat! Depending on how
What’s up with circular scars on the bottoms of some tomatoes?
What you see: A scarred ring around the bottom of your tomato What it is: The scarring is a condition called “catfacing,” which is common in some heirloom
This carrot hasn’t taken a turn for the worse!
What you see: A very dramatically (or not so dramatically) bent carrot What it is: A perfectly edible carrot that hit an obstacle while it was growing Eat or
White, hole-y stuff in your mango?
What you see: White, hole-y stuff in your mango; it might seem like the pit is taking over the rest of the mango. What it is: Starchy mango tissue with air
The mango that looks fine on the outside, but went wrong on the inside
What you see: A brown, possibly purplish color throughout your mango’s flesh What it is: Deteriorating mango flesh Eat or toss: Toss! This mango will not taste
Aged cheddar with a crusty, white smear?
What you see: A smeary white crust on your aged cheddar. You may be paranoid that it's mold. What it is: Calcium lactate crystals! Eat or toss: Eat! Like the
A sticky issue: clear stuff near mango stem
What you see: Clear sticky stuff around the stem of your mango What it is: Sap! Eat or toss: The mango is fine to eat. Clear sap near the stem doesn’t indicate
A sprouted onion can still be an edible onion
What you see: A sprouted onion. What it is: A sprouted onion! Eat or toss: Eat! You can eat the onion and its green shoots too! But, if the onion sprouted a
The case of the uninvited wisp in the honey liqueur
What you see: A wispy thing at the bottom of your honey liqueur What it is: Clumping molecules! Known as “flocculation,” this can happen when organic materials
Soft spots on strawberries
What you see: Sunken, darker areas on your strawberries What it is: Aging in action Eat or toss: If they aren't showing signs of mold or rot, they should still
Help! My food is eating holes into my foil!
What you see: Small holes in the aluminum foil you used to seal something up and silver-colored blobs on your food. What it is: A chemical reaction! The foil is
Is it OK that there are snowy flakes in this gin?
What you see: Snowy white particles in your gin What it is: Flavor compounds like esters and waxes that have formed clumps Drink or toss? Drink! Nothing harmful
The saga of the soggy spinach can have a happy ending
What you see: Spinach that looks “wet.” What it is: Cell membranes breaking down, releasing water; generally, the leaves’ cells are collapsing. Eat or toss:
Can you eat “goopy” strawberries?
What you see: Strawberries that look “wet” and seem to be coated in strawberry juice. What it is: Not to be dramatic or anything, but the strawberries are so
Can you eat yellow arugula?
What you see: Yellowing arugula leaves. What it is: The leaves are breaking down chlorophyll as they age. Eat or toss? Eat! Nothing unsafe happening here, but
