How Can You Tell When Fruit Has Gone Bad?

Fruit spoilage usually shows up as excessive softening, collapse, and a sweet-sour fermented smell. Fresh fruit has a bit of resistance when pressed gently; spoiled fruit holds a fingerprint, and sometimes the skin splits and leaks liquid. The second sign is mold and discoloration: white, green or gray fuzzy spots on the skin, or spreading brown-black patches in the flesh, mean the fruit is no longer safe to eat. A cloud of fruit flies is also an indirect sign that sugar levels have risen and fermentation has started. How do you tell overripeness from spoilage? Ripening fruit softens over time, and that's expected for peaches, pears or avocados. Once spoilage begins, though, the softening is concentrated in one spot, caves in under a finger, and starts leaking liquid from that area. When the skin stays taut everywhere except the tip or stem end, that spot is usually where rot began. If the whole fruit softens evenly, that's ripening; if only one area collapses, spoilage is more likely. What do skin spots and mold mean? On thin-skinned fruit like grapes, strawberries and figs, white or gray fuzzy mold spreads fast — one moldy piece can pass it on to others sharing the same bowl within hours. Once you spot mold on one piece, check the ones touching it too. On thicker-skinned fruit like apples and pears, brown, wet-looking spots creep under the skin; if those spots stay dry and shallow the rot is still limited, but a soft, wet halo around them means it's spreading faster. When do smell and leaking liquid signal danger? Fresh fruit has its own natural sweet smell; once that gives way to a sharp, almost alcohol-like or moldy fermented smell, the fruit has started to ferment. At that point the taste and texture are already off; discard fruit that smells moldy or shows mold, because some molds can produce toxins that make people sick. Fruit that splits and leaks on its own, like an overripe peach or tomato, turns moldy quickly afterward. Once you notice leaking, use the fruit right away or discard it. Which fruit can be trimmed and still used? In firm-fleshed fruit like apples, pears or melon, a small, dry soft spot can be cut away with a wide margin and the rest eaten; if the cut surface shows a wet stain or mold trace, though, discard the whole piece. Soft-fleshed, thin-skinned fruit like grapes, strawberries or apricots don't trim safely, since spoilage spreads through the whole piece fast. One spoiled piece in a bowl of these is a good reason to check the rest. How should storage be arranged to slow spoilage down? Stacking different fruits on top of each other in one container puts weight on whatever's at the bottom and bruises it early; soft fruit should be kept in a single layer, separate from firmer ones. Some fruits, like bananas and apples, give off a gas that speeds up ripening in whatever is nearby, so keep them away from fruit you don't want ripening faster. Washing fruit before refrigerating it adds surface moisture and speeds up spoilage, so washing is best done right before eating. Leaving the bag loosely closed rather than sealed tight cuts down on moisture buildup and helps fruit stay fresh longer.