What you see: Rough brown patches on the surface of your avocado. They may look a little geometric, possibly like scales. What it is: Most likely, windblown
Black or brown just under potato peel
What you see: A blackish, dark area under your potato’s skin; the surface may or may not appear damaged. What it is: The blackish coloration pictured above is a
Misshapen avocados are still good to eat
What you see: Raised lines and scars on the avocado’s peel; the fruit’s overall shape is distorted. What it is: Ridging! Eat or toss: Eat! This
Narrow bumps or warts on honeynut squash
What you see: Narrow, angular bumps on your honeynut squash. What it is: Healed wounds. Eat or toss: Eat! The squash's flesh, that is. The scabs will likely be
A rough brown band around apples
What you see: Rough brown skin forming a thick band that partially or entirely encircles the fruit. The apple is probably shaped a bit oddly too. What it is:
Dark scratch on grapefruit
What you see: A dark, scratched-out-looking spot on your grapefruit. What it is: Probably an injury from the harvest process. Eat or toss? Eat! As long as
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
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
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
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
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
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
What’s this scabby stuff on my apple?
What you see: Scab-like browning on apple skin. What it is: Apple scab! Eat or toss? Eat! Just cut away the area affected by the scab. This is a fungus that
Tiny scratches all over your pepper?
What you see: Little lines or scars on your bell pepper. What it is: The result of a sudden, unexpected growth spurt. Eat or toss? Eat! These are just harmless
