Fruit · Food safety
Mango tastes fermented: overripe or spoiled?
A very ripe mango can smell intense, but alcohol, vinegar, fizz, leaking tissue or widespread collapse point toward fermentation and deterioration rather than normal ripeness.
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Food safety
Food-safety guidance on handling, cooking, storage, spoilage signs and when food should be discarded.
Fruit · Food safety
Pineapple with a brown center: what it means and whether the rest is edible
A brown pineapple center can be chilling-related black heart. A small firm area may be trimmed, but extensive wet browning, alcohol odor, mold or collapse warrants discarding the fruit.
Fruit · Food safety
Pineapple smells like alcohol: why it happens and when to discard it
A strong alcohol, beer or wine smell in pineapple points toward yeast fermentation, especially when the flesh is soft, fizzy, leaking or full of gas cavities.
Fruit · Food safety
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Kiwi with water-soaked spots inside: when to throw it away
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Mango black inside: what may have happened
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Pink grapefruit with pale or dry areas: ripeness versus deterioration
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Very soft kiwi: how to tell ripe from spoiled
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Lemon with hard peel and dry pulp: can you still use it?
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Puffy mandarin with peel separated from the flesh: what it means
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Mandarin dry inside: why it happens and whether you can eat it
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.
Fruit · Food safety
Soft blueberries that burst when touched: how to tell if they’re past their best
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.