How moldy does fruit have to be before you say not mine!

[kdonnel]

i used to toss strawberries and raspberries if there was the slightest hint of mold in the package. As I have gotten older I have come to tolerate much more as still edible.

Strawberries I just cut off the moldy part. For raspberries I’ll eat them with black spots but toss the ones with white mold. The neighboring raspberries are still fair game.

I also gave up on washing fruit and just roll the dice and eat away. I might wipe an apple with a paper towel but that is all.

My mother in law gets out the soap and in some cases bleach for many fruits and veggies.

Am I crazy or normal?

 

[jaiminee krikit]

i used to toss strawberries and raspberries if there was the slightest hint of mold in the package. As I have gotten older I have come to tolerate much more as still edible.

Strawberries I just cut off the moldy part. For raspberries I’ll eat them with black spots but toss the ones with white mold. The neighboring raspberries are still fair game.

I also gave up on washing fruit and just roll the dice and eat away. I might wipe an apple with a paper towel but that is all.

My mother in law gets out the soap and in some cases bleach for many fruits and veggies.

Am I crazy or normal?

I won’t eat a piece of fruit that has mold on it, but I’ll eat a neighboring piece in the same container if it doesn’t have mold.
I do rinse all my fruit before eating, though. I just imagine my apple rolling on the dirty floor of a supermarket and then being put back in the pile. DH wipes his apples on his shirt.

 

[ronandannette]

I won’t eat a piece of fruit that has mold on it, but I’ll eat a neighboring piece in the same container if it doesn’t have mold.
I do rinse all my fruit before eating, though. I just imagine my apple rolling on the dirty floor of a supermarket and then being put back in the pile. DH wipes his apples on his shirt.

This sounds pretty much good to me. I don't bother washing anything I intend to peel though. And on a bit of an unrelated note, does anybody know what is up with bananas these days? You can buy them literally too green to peel and within a day they're already over-ripe and browning?

 

[mumto3girls]

I won’t eat a piece of fruit that has mold on it, but I’ll eat a neighboring piece in the same container if it doesn’t have mold.
I do rinse all my fruit before eating, though. I just imagine my apple rolling on the dirty floor of a supermarket and then being put back in the pile. DH wipes his apples on his shirt.

.

This is what I do. Also, if a melon or something has a little mold or bad spot I will cut that out—with generous margins—and eat the rest.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

And on a bit of an unrelated note, does anybody know what is up with bananas these days? You can buy them literally too green to peel and within a day they're already over-ripe and browning?

Yes! All of our bananas do the same thing! It drives me crazy - what used to be a couple good days has turned into a couple good hours (I am way too picky about my bananas lol)

 

[ronandannette]

Yes! All of our bananas do the same thing! It drives me crazy - what used to be a couple good days has turned into a couple good hours (I am way too picky about my bananas lol)

I'm not exactly sure where this fits into the nefarious schemes of Monsanto to dominate humanity by controlling global food supply but I'm convinced they're behind it somehow.

 

[kdonnel]

I'm not exactly sure where this fits into the nefarious schemes of Monsanto to dominate humanity by controlling global food supply but I'm convinced they're behind it somehow.

Bananas as we know them are on the verge of extinction, again.

The Cavendish varity is the one grocery stores carry. It was chosen to replace the Gros Michel which went extinct in 1965.

The cavendish was chosen for its durability and shelf life, it is not the best tasting banana variety.

Maybe the replacement will taste better.

https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/22/africa/banana-panama-disease/index.html

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

If there's just one or two berries in the container with mold but the rest are good, I'll just toss those bad ones out. If it's a good but if the container, they all go. I rinse all fruit if I'm near water. If I'm not- like eating an apple in the car- then I don't worry about it, but that's kind of rare for me.

PS- is bleaching fruits and veggies actually safe???

 

[disneychrista]

And on a bit of an unrelated note, does anybody know what is up with bananas these days? You can buy them literally too green to peel and within a day they're already over-ripe and browning?

Seperate them so they are on longer a "bunch" but individuals and it will slow down the ripening/browning.

 

[ronandannette]

Bananas as we know them are on the verge of extinction, again.

The Cavendish varity is the one grocery stores carry. It was chosen to replace the Gros Michel which went extinct in 1965.

The cavendish was chosen for its durability and shelf life, it is not the best tasting banana variety.

Maybe the replacement will taste better.

https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/22/africa/banana-panama-disease/index.html

Thanks for trying but I've already met my quota for learning new things today!

 

[Meriweather]

Agree....won't eat fruit with mold on it, but will eat surrounding fruit with no mold

 

[amberpi]

I’d be much more concerned about eating bleach than a dirty piece of fruit although I rinse all non peeled fruit once the container is opened. I’ll toss a few bad pieces and will cut away a bad piece of a melon...or my dh will because I’m a menace with a knife (in the non threatening, clutzy way, not the serial killer, don’t give her a knife way) and he likes all my fingers.

 

[lynxstch]

Seperate them so they are on longer a "bunch" but individuals and it will slow down the ripening/browning.

I was told that once you separate the banana from the bunch, they will actually ripen faster. Something about air getting at the area where you broke it off the bunch. I wrap plastic wrap around the top of the bunch after I break one off. It seems to slow down the ripening!

 

[PollyannaMom]

i used to toss strawberries and raspberries if there was the slightest hint of mold in the package. As I have gotten older I have come to tolerate much more as still edible.

Strawberries I just cut off the moldy part. For raspberries I’ll eat them with black spots but toss the ones with white mold. The neighboring raspberries are still fair game.

I, too, have mellowed over the years. I used to toss the whole package if I saw any mold at all. Now I toss the moldy berry, and probably the ones directly touching it, but assume other ones in the container are OK.

I do rinse fruit with water if I'm home, but I don't fret too much about apples I eat in other places.

 

[mombrontrent]

All the fresh cut fruits, veggies, salads ect. Made in store at grocery stores use the “bad produce”. They cut away the bad parts on the fruits and veggies and use the remaining good spots. It’s actually s very good thing they do this as otherwise all those fruits and veggies would just end up in the grocery store garbage bin. This way less ends up being wasted.

To answer the original question, I don’t eat moldy berries and wash all fruit and veggies (rinse in water) I’m not peeling. I will cut off a bad spot on say a potato or pepper and use the rest.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I was on a trip to Vermont with friends a couple of decades ago. We were getting lunch ready and one of my friends opened a container of raspberries, and they were covered in white fuzzy mold. I was ready to throw them away, but she tsk-tsked at me and said she was going to wash the mold off, and the berries would be perfectly edible, which it turned out, they were. She was quite a bit older than me and I had to listen to the 'I was washing berries before you were born' lecture, but they *were* pretty yummy.

As to bananas, I know we are told to keep them out of the fridge, but if you have ripe ones that are going to go too much past brown, if you place them in the fridge the skin will blacken but the banana with stay as it was when you put it in the fridge.

 

[focusondisney]

I was on a trip to Vermont with friends a couple of decades ago. We were getting lunch ready and one of my friends opened a container of raspberries, and they were covered in white fuzzy mold. I was ready to throw them away, but she tsk-tsked at me and said she was going to wash the mold off, and the berries would be perfectly edible, which it turned out, they were. She was quite a bit older than me and I had to listen to the 'I was washing berries before you were born' lecture, but they *were* pretty yummy.

Absolutely no moldy food for me. Heck, I even throw the mushy ones away. I’d probably throw out a partial container if there was a moldy one. If I found just one in a full container, I would discard the few around it too. If the a lot of the rest were mushy, the whole thing would go. I try to buy just what we’ll eat. I’m pretty rigid with my food standards.

 

[DLgal]

I will toss any moldy fruits and the ones that were touching it, like in grapes or strawberry packs, since mold spores spread easily.

I will cut mold off of bread or cheese and eat around it if it's just a small amount. If there are more than 2 spots of mold on an item, I toss it.

I cut around brown spots in fruits like apples and pears and pineapple. I toss fruit that has that tangy taste of fermentation, though.

I toss mushy grapes. Those are borderline and I can't make myself eat them.

I toss any fruits or veggies that are pre cut and feel slimy. I have gotten sick off slimy baby carrots before.

 

[Hikergirl]

If there is a hint of mold on just one they all get tossed. I'm sure neighboring pieces are fine but I once unknowingly took a bite of bread with mold on it and it has literally scarred me for life. If I think about it I can still taste it, and that happened when I was in HS

I do soak my berries in diluted white vinegar for about 5 minutes then rinse them and dry them completely.
I will freeze those if it is taking me a little longer to go through them.
Other fruit doesn't last very long here, it gets eaten pretty quick.

 

[corgi_monster]

I have 0 mold tolerance. Any sign of mold and the entire container gets tossed. I also throw out foods that have gone past the "best by" date even though I know they are probably still safe to eat. I have two kids two and under so I'm not taking any chances with their health. Knock on wood, we have never had any vomiting, diarrhea, or sore tummies till this day.