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can you eat apples with brown spots

by Retta Marks Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Brown spots inside an apple are not a reason for concern. As mentioned earlier, ethylene and exposure to oxygen may cause fruits to go brown. The apple is safe to eat as long as there are no signs of mold. However, it's best to avoid fruits with bruises, skin breaks and other signs of damage, as they are prone to mold.

Full Answer

Can you eat brown apples?

Lastly, and most importantly, always remember to refrigerate any cut fruits or vegetables. Even if you’re the most picky or sluggish eater, we hope you find solace in the fact that you can absolutely eat brown apples. One less apple wasted a day...and well, you know the rest.

What are the brown spots on my apples?

Brown splotches develop on the green side of the apple, and will continue to grow in size when the apple is held at warm temperatures. It is also associated with early harvest date. Cortland, Red Delicious, McIntosh, and Granny Smith are most susceptible.

Can you eat apples with dots on the skin?

Individual dots are about the size of a pinhead. Environmental conditions that favor disease development are moderate temperatures and extended wet periods in late summer/early fall. Sooty blotch and flyspeck live on the surface of the fruit. Damage is mainly cosmetic. The skins on the apples can be eaten, they just don't look very appetizing.

How do you keep apples from browning on the inside?

Lemon or Citrus Juice - Any liquid containing citric acid will stop the enzyme and prevent browning because it brings the apple’s pH levels down. Just squeeze whatever citrus fruit you prefer directly onto the surface of the cut apple. However, be mindful that whatever fruit you use will change the apple’s flavor profile.

Can you eat apples with spots?

“It's not harmful to human health and you can't really taste it.” Sooty blotch is common and often pops up in residential trees and on organic orchards where fungicides aren't used, Marini says. It tends to be worse in humid areas.

What causes brown spots on apples?

This occurs because the cold temperatures cause oxidative damage, which is when the apples are exposed to more oxygen than they can absorb. Bitter pit occurs when apples are stored for long periods of time at cold temperatures and causes discoloration on the skin of the fruit, as well as brown spots on the flesh.

When should you not eat an apple?

It's best to discard apples that are soft or show other physical signs of expiration, as moisture content under the skin can indicate contamination (5). You can usually tell whether an apple has started to go bad by examining its appearance. Apples that have gone bad should be discarded.

What are the little brown spots on apples?

Sooty blotch and flyspeck are 2 different fungal diseases that often occur together on apples. Sooty blotch appears as dark brown to black, ½ inch or larger smudges on the surface of the apple. Flyspeck produces clusters of shiny, round, black dots. Individual dots are about the size of a pinhead.

Can you eat apples with apple scab?

Scab can cause cosmetic blemishes on the fruit. Fruit with apple scab is still edible. Apple scab can also infect hawthorn and firethorn. The first signs of apple scab often are not noticed.

Can eating an old apple make you sick?

An apple that is firm and has no signs of mold or holes from insects should be safe to eat. Have you seen mold on apples and other fruits in your fridge or cupboard? Then it's time to toss them. Like most fruits, apples can go bad and make you sick.

What happens if you eat rotten apple?

"Someone who is particularly sensitive or who gets sick from moldy fruit may experience nausea, vomiting or diarrhea as well as other food poisoning symptoms." She also cautions that some types of mold are more dangerous than others.

What does apple mold look like?

Soft, bluish-green, light brown, furry coating of infected fruits begin around injuries or lenticels on the outer surface of fruit. Rotted fruits have a characteristically moldy odor and flavor. Grayish blue masses of spores may appear on the fruit surface under high relative humidity conditions.

Why do apples turn brown?

The oxidized polyphenols are transformed into "o-quinones" , which then react with amino acids in the apples to produce the brown color. Some apple varieties have more of the enzymes and the polyphenols which means they brown more.

Why do apples turn brown after being cut?

This is NOT due to air exposure , where apples brown after being cut and exposed to oxygen. That takes longer than a minute or due, this is how the apples look the moment they are cut open. I cut a piece of the white portion of one of these apples and tasted it.

What happens if a maggot eats an apple?

If a female apple maggot lays an egg in a growing apple, it leaves a dimple or small spot where the egg is laid. Once the egg hatches, the maggot eats some of the apple flesh. This causes brown spots inside the apple. The apple maggot leaves the apple (so you won't find one inside, just the brown damaged flesh).

What happens when you cut an apple?

Compare the CO2 issue above with ordinary browning , or "enzymatic browning.". When you cut open an apple, the flesh is first now exposed to oxygen. An enzyme in the apple called polyphenol oxidase (PPO) starts to oxidize compounds in the apple's flesh called polyphenols. The oxidized polyphenols are transformed ...

What does it look like when you have a golden apple?

It looks like a blister or light brown discoloration of the skin and then can become dark, affect the flesh beneath and eventually produce fungal decay.

What are brown splotches on apples?

Brown splotches develop on the green side of the apple, and will continue to grow in size when the apple is held at warm temperatures. It is also associated with early harvest date. Cortland, Red Delicious, McIntosh, and Granny Smith are most susceptible.

Does browning affect apples?

The browning does not affect flavor or even texture. Sure, if you leave cut apples out for a day, that would, but that's due to actual rotting, not a simple enzymatic color change. This enzymatic browning also occurs in other fruit, most noticeably bananas, pears and eggplants.

Why are apples brown?

To put it simply, apples brown when the flesh of the fruit is exposed to oxygen, altering its color, flavor, scent, and in some cases, nutritional value. The longer a cut apple is exposed to air, the more brown it becomes. Credit: Photo: Westend61 / Getty.

How to get the sweet taste of apple?

If lemons, lime juice, or vinegar are too tart for your taste, try soaking the apple slices in pineapple juice to savor the sweet flavor. Plain Water - Immersing cut apple slices in plain water is the easiest method, and certainly, one of the most helpful in limiting the oxygen that reaches the apple's cells.

Why do McDonald's apple slices stay fresh?

Antioxidants - There’s a reason why those pre-packaged apple slices from McDonald’s stay fresh (and white) for so long, and it’s because of a chemical antioxidant known as calcium ascorbate, or most commonly, vitamin C. You can do this at home with the aid of your medicine cabinet.

Where are enzymes stored in an apple?

Normally, the enzyme and the polyphenols are stored in separate areas of the apple’s cells. But when sliced, dropped, or bitten into, the cells become damaged and the enzyme connects with those polyphenol molecules. When you add oxygen into the mix with the damaged cells, a chemical reaction occurs that changes the polyphenols ...

Can you put apples near copper?

Bonus Tip: Don’t ever put apple slices near copper or iron because these metals speed up the browning process. If you’re thinking, when would I ever have apples near iron or copper, it can be as simple as serving apples in a bowl made of these metals or cutting apples with a knife made of copper or iron.

Do GMO apples brown when cut?

The good news is that you don’t have to resort to buying the USDA-ap proved genetically-modified (GMO) apple that never browns when cut, because these home solutions could help to slow the browning and preserve the flavor of every sweet bite:

Can you eat brown apples?

Lastly, and most importantly, always remember to refrigerate any cut fruits or vegetables. Even if you’re the most picky or sluggish eater, we hope you find solace in the fact that you can absolutely eat brown apples. One less apple wasted a day...and well, you know the rest.

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