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
Sprouting potatoes? Here’s what you need to know
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
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
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
This eggplant is too far gone, but smaller brown and orange skin patches can be OK
What you see: Brown/orangish colors in your eggplant’s skin. What it is: Likely chilling injury. Eat or toss: The eggplant pictured above was too far gone to
The white fuzz inside your clementine is supposed to be there
What you see: A delicate white fluff in the center of your clementine (or tangerine, or other type of mandarin) What it is: Basically just an airier version of
Shady areas inside your eggplant?
What you see: Brownish coloring inside your eggplant. What it is: Oxidation. Eat or toss: Eat! This eggplant likely had a traumatic experience (most likely
Brown pattern on pear is perfectly edible (and kind of looks like a map of a faraway land, no?)
What you see: An odd brown pattern on the outside of a pear. What it is: Russeting, a harmless response to water, frost and other environmental conditions. Eat
Are the brown spots on cauliflower OK to eat?
What you see: Brown spots on cauliflower. What it is: Bruising, most likely from bumping into other cauliflower heads, or cold temperatures. Eat or toss: Eat!
Black bits on salmon may just be harmless scales
What you see: Unappealing black bits on the surface of your salmon fillet. What it is: Some wayward scales from when the fish was prepped. Eat or toss: Just
An onion of a different color?
What you see: Red onions that turn a bluish, greenish color during cooking. What it is: A harmless reaction of a plant pigment to an alkaline (basic)
Can you eat green potatoes?
What you see: Greenish skin on a potato. What it is: Chlorophyll buildup that signals the presence of solanine, a harmful toxin. Eat or toss? Is it just a
