Kiwi with a hard white center: why it happens
The pale center of a kiwi is normal and often somewhat firmer. If it stays extremely hard while the outer flesh is soft, uneven ripening or hard-core disorder may be involved.
All Quinnoa articles in one place.
The pale center of a kiwi is normal and often somewhat firmer. If it stays extremely hard while the outer flesh is soft, uneven ripening or hard-core disorder may be involved.
Water-soaked or translucent patches can reflect internal breakdown or freezing injury. If they are extensive or come with collapse, off odor, slime or mold, discard the kiwi.
Internal mango darkening can come from chilling injury, bruising, physiological breakdown or rot. Extensive wet, jelly-like, off-smelling or moldy black flesh should be discarded.
A hard, dry lemon is usually dehydrated and lower in quality. If it remains intact and free of mold, rot and off odor, the zest or remaining juice can still be useful.
A very loose rind can be citrus puffiness, common in overmature or stored mandarins. It lowers quality but does not mean rot if the segments remain sound.
A mandarin can dry through water loss or granulation of the juice sacs. If segments remain clean and free of mold or off odor, the problem is usually poor quality.
Pale areas can be color variation, while dry areas may reflect granulation or water loss. Water-soaked, rotten, moldy or off-smelling tissue is a different warning.
A ripe kiwi yields gently but still holds its structure. Water-soaked areas, slime, leakage, mold or an alcoholic smell mean softness is occurring with deterioration.
A very soft blueberry has lost structure through ripeness, water loss or bruising. If it is also sticky, leaking, fermented-smelling or moldy, discard it.
Juice at the bottom means some raspberries have broken. A small leak can be a bruise; lots of liquid, collapsed fruit, fermented odor or mold points to deterioration.
Tiny regularly spaced hairs on blackberries can be remnants of flower styles. Mold forms denser irregular colonies and is more likely on soft, wet or damaged fruit.
An orange can dry through water loss or granulation of the juice sacs while its peel still looks normal. Without rot, the problem is usually eating quality.