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
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
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
Spin me into salad! These scars are fine to eat
What you see: Dried out rings running circles around your tomato What it is: Scarring after a growth spurt Eat or toss: Eat! The dry, brown areas may not have a
Don’t be bitter about these dark, sunken spots on your apple. The rest is still sweet
What you see: Little, dark sunken spots on the outside of your apple; and/or brown spots just underneath the skin. What it is: Bitter pit, a defect caused by
The light brown area on this grapefruit is harmless
What you see: Light brown scars on the peel, in a pattern something like broken lace. What it is: Wind scar. Eat or toss? Eat! This is only a superficial
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
Whitish stuff on chocolate is edible, but…
What you see: A light, whitish/grayish/beige-ish powdery coating on chocolate. What it is: “Bloom,” the result of fat or sugar exiting the “chocolate matrix”
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
Can you eat tomatoes with deep but dry holes?
What you see: A dry line running down the outside of a tomato, with a hole or two in its midst. What it is: A sign that, way back when, a part of the tomato
Those annoying brown spots on cauliflower
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!
Dark area on raw salmon
What you see: A dark brownish spot on your salmon, most likely toward the tail. What is is: Bruising. Eat or toss: Eat! If you’re very concerned about
This eggplant looks “scarry,” but it can still make a good meal
What you see: A big scar on your eggplant What it is: A healed injury Eat or toss? Eat! Cut off the scar if you’re worried about texture, but this is only the
Hey bud, this brown broccoli is about to flower!
What you see: Florets that are somewhat loose, and possibly turning brownish colors. What it is: Broccoli buds about to bloom! Eat or toss: Eat! So, can you
Chew on this: The tale of the roughed up sweet potato
What you see: Holes and chewed areas on the outside of your sweet potato What it is: Love bites, likely from white grubs Eat or toss: Peel off the damage and
