What you see: What looks like a blade of grass in your spinach clamshell. What it is: A “seed leaf” of spinach. Eat or toss: Eat! This is just more
Is that mold in this split-pit peach?
What you see: Your peach’s pit has split open, the area around the pit is bumpy and strange. You might be worried about mold. What it is: The pit split while
Weak greens and peach fuzz: Six fun & fresh fruit and veg facts
From the particulars of peach harvesting to why some leafy greens are sturdier than others, I learned so, so much at the virtual Postharvest Technology of
Why does some broccoli look blue?
What you see: Broccoli with a blueish tingeWhat it is: Plant pigments and/or a waxy coating on the broccoli Eat or toss: Eat! This is normal for broccoli Why
Dispatch from the virtual Postharvest Technology Short Course at UC Davis
When I’m putting together pieces for EatOrToss, I often turn to researchers in a field known as postharvest science. These are the horticulturists, plant
Purple splotches on your cauliflower?
What you see: White cauliflower with some random purple patches in the branches and stemWhat it is: Bonus colors from anthocyanins, common plant pigments Eat or
Brown dots or streaks in your avocado?
What you see: Brown and black streaks or dots in avocado flesh What it is: Vascular browning! Mmmm! Eat or toss? The avocado is edible, but may not taste as
Odd spots inside sweet potato?
What you see: Discolored, dry-looking patches in sweet potato flesh, more toward the outside than the inside. The exterior of the sweet potato probably looks
A hole with a “window” in your spinach?
What you see: A spinach leaf with a hole that’s not quite a hole; there's a layer of clear tissue remaining. What it is: Window-paning! Evidence of a picky
Black pattern inside a raw potato?
What you see: A black pattern inside your potato What it is: A number of issues cause black areas to form in potatoes; the potato pictured above most likely
A plum that’s brownish inside?
What you see: Brownish discoloration inside a plum What it is: Likely flesh browning from too-cold storage Eat or toss: The plum doesn’t taste good, right? It’s
Why did this orange turn purple?!?
What you see: An orange slice that looked normal and, many hours later, turned purple. What it is: A pigment in the orange reacted with iron on the knife used
The tale of the roughed up plum
What you see: Rough, pockmarked plum skin with sunken areasWhat it is: Dehydration and pitting probably caused by poor storage; this plum may have also suffered
Potatoes with stems?!?
What you see: A papery, dried stem-y bit attached to your potato What it is: The remnants of a stem that should have fallen off Eat or toss: Pinch or cut it off
Gasp! Weird spots on your potato
What you see: Spots on your potato’s skin; they likely each have a larger outer circle and a dot at the center What it is: An infection of the little structures
You can eat lettuce with little brown spots like these
What you see: Brown dots on your lettuce, especially along the lower parts of the ribs. What it is: Russet spotting! Eat or toss: Eat! This is harmless (for
