Mouldy veg

[fiamma]

I've been wanting to ask... when your veg goes a bit mouldy, do you cut the mouldy bit off and eat the rest, or chuck the whole lot? I've always been for the first option (I hate wasting food), but I have read various things lately that seem to concur with the second. Any thoughts?

[DancingWillow]

I usually go with the first option too, then taste a piece from the "good" part and if it tastes fine, I eat it. If not, I toss it.

[rantipole]

I read somewhere that the visible part of the mold is only about 10% of the mold that is present. The rest can be spread microscopically through the food. So, I toss it.

Cheers,
rant

[Risker]

Obviously it would depend on the severity of the mould and the size of the fruit/veg but generally I'd just cut off the mouldy bit and use the rest.

Bit of mould does you good

[Cherry]

It depends how mouldy it is Also what it is.

The threads run through the food as Rant says, so if it's bread or something soft then I immediately bin it, but if it's something like a carrot with a teeny bit of mould at one end then I might be tempted to cut off the mouldy bit.

[aubergine]

A lot of very poisonous pathogens can be completely invisible. If food is past it's best, it goes straight on the compost.

From someone who had chronic food poisoning for nine months, it aint worth the risk.

[speedylemons]

yikes! i usually just cut off the mould and eat whatever it is.. and if it's bread i usually just inspect the loaf and discard the bad slices. I think i will be a bit more careful with certain items, but otherwise i can't really afford to waste food.. but then again i eat it all quick enough where i don't need to worry about mould.

[Pob]

Mostly I chuck it - if it's fruit/veg then it's not going to be very nutritious anyway if it is so old it is mouldy. I usually throw out mouldy bread, too, but once I didn't notice when I packed it for lunch. I picked off the mould and toasted it to go with my soup - it was that or soup with no bread.

[abrennan]

It depends on what it is. I don't recall having much mould on anything except bread and berries, I must eat everything too quickly.

I think it depends on how hungry I am too. Not that I would eat the mould but I might cut it off.



Rantipole do you remember where you read about the 10 percent thing. Sounds like an iceberg. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, especially with soft things that mould could grow roots in.

[fiamma]

Thanks everyone for all your replies - I really appreciate it. I think I will be more careful in future.

[Pob]

Rantipole do you remember where you read about the 10 percent thing. Sounds like an iceberg. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, especially with soft things that mould could grow roots in.

Here's some info:

http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/How_dangero...ng_moldy_bread

It also says that mould on grain foods is the worst kind to eat

[aubergine]

Good tip on putting the bread in the fridge. This is essential in my house.

[rantipole]

Rantipole do you remember where you read about the 10 percent thing. Sounds like an iceberg. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, especially with soft things that mould could grow roots in.

I don't, unfortunately. That link in the post above may be helpful. I'll have to check it out.

Cheers,
rant

[foxytina_69]

i dont eat bread, but i always leave steevs bread in the freezer and use it straight from there. it defrosts very quickly and comes right back to life. it never goes bad this way.

with vegetables, i usually cut off the moldy bits and use the rest.

[Tray]

I cut the mouldy part off and I eat it anyway. Because i think that excessive hygienism feebles our immunitary system

[Pob]

The problem isn't a hygeine one - the mould may be a species that produces toxic chemicals.

Mouldy veg really isn't worth the risk as if it has got to that state then it has probably lost a lot of nutrients.

[Jane M]

I've had food poisoning twice. My philosophy on food is this ... when in any kind of doubt throw it out!

[Tray]

Rob I didn't read the link you posted, probably you're right but I still see it as a waste..
Probably the best thing is not to buy too much food so you won't risk to have mould on it

[aubergine]

If you put in a compost bin you're still getting use out of it

[Jane M]

If you put in a compost bin you're still getting use out of it

Right! It has a whole new purpose!

[herbwormwood]

if the veg have been around long enough to go mouldy it probably has very little nutrition in it so I would be likely to throw it out.
It is better to buy in small amounts so you can use it before it goes mouldy. If you have a glut of something its better to cook it straight away and freeze it. Or share it with friends and neighbours. Or prepare it and freeze it raw.
It comes in very handy when you don't want to cook or prepare and you can just get it out the freezer.
It is also worth learning about the different requirements for storing veg. Most like to be in cook dark places, some store better in plastic, some store better left to breathe. Most like to be stored in the dark. And I think they all store best uncut.
Yes, compost bins are good for mouldy veg but city dwellers don't always have gardens to put them in.

[Risker]

I cut the mouldy part off and I eat it anyway. Because i think that excessive hygienism feebles our immunitary system

I agree.

Thanks everyone for all your replies - I really appreciate it. I think I will be more careful in future.

I get the feeling you'd already decided when you started the thread

I read a couple of websites about mold/mould and they are very convincing when they give the reasons not to eat mouldy food.

Still, I choose to ignore those websites and use my own judgements, humans have done without that scientific information for millions of years so I have some faith in myself to spot wether a mouldy food is still edible or not.

Also, Tray said, 'excessive hygienism feebles our immunitary system' and I firmly believe that.

[DancingWillow]

i
It is also worth learning about the different requirements for storing veg. Most like to be in cook dark places, some store better in plastic, some store better left to breathe. Most like to be stored in the dark. And I think they all store best uncut.

Do you by any chance have that info in handy? I'd like to know how to best store different fruits and veggies

[foxytina_69]

i dont use vegetables for their nutrition mainly. i use them for something to fill my stomach lol. i cant afford to just toss a veggie because it may not be as nutritionally adequate as others.

[Haniska]

I cut it off and eat the rest most everytime, depending on the food to mold ratio. Also depending if the rest of the food smells or feels off. I'm not scared of any old bacteria.
I used to pick food off of the ground if I dropped it (in my younger years) pop it in my mouth and declare "Vitamin B-12!"

Good times.

[abrennan]

yeah me too. I cut off the good bits and throw them away and eat the mouldy bit, sometimes I even rub it in the dirt, outside, near the bin.... ...no I don't

[mophoto]

i would love to come to your place for dinner

[abrennan]

Come tonight we'll have moldy mash and slimey salad and old tepid tea to wash it down

and for dessert... ....well you can bring dessert

[mophoto]

that sounds excellent!!
moldy strawberrys with moldy shortcake

[Haniska]

*rolls on floor laughing*
*discovers she is covered in B-12 and begins to lick herself*

[abrennan]

cor blimey I can't wait

[mophoto]

moldy raspberries are my favorite, with some expired soy cream- extra chunky

[abrennan]

ooh yeah expired soy cream, yogurty

[cedarblue]

perhaps we buy too much fresh stuff to be able to consume in a reasonable period. shopping for fresh is probably best done little and often, although this can be an inconvenience having to pop to a shop every day or so.

has anyone noticed any relationship between the speed of decay in fruit and veg and where they buy it from?
eg i shop mainly in asda, waitrose or sainsburys and by far the best for quality and endurance is waitrose (although the price is often more), worse is asda (cheapest). a bag of smartprice lemons from them can go mouldy and soft within 5 days i've found.

[abrennan]

I have noticed the relationship between where I buy fruit and veg and how quickly it decays. Apples that rot from the inside out and things like that. Mould in berries. Bendy cucumbers.

[aubergine]

I go shopping every day to keep everything fresh

[abrennan]

that's probably the best way

[herbwormwood]

Do you by any chance have that info in handy? I'd like to know how to best store different fruits and veggies

try googling storing fresh vegetables and you will find a lot of sites devoted to this topic. I am sure other search terms would work too.If you have a specific query related to a particular veggie post it here and I will see if I can provide the answer. Or we could start a new thread on it if you like.
In the old days people had cold cellars to store root veg in. Now we have centrally heated homes it can be more difficult to keep things fresh. But as a rule leafy veg will not store long at room temperature if they have not been treated with a chemical to stop them going off.

[Lyns]

With veg I usually cut the mouldy bits off. Bread I throw the whole thing out. I've started keeping my bread in the freezer though as I can't eat it fast enough on my own.

I was so disappointed this morning to find my jam had gone mouldy and a pbj sandwich just isn't the same without the j.

I can't say that in general I'm too careful about the food I eat/hygiene, eating things I've dropped on the floor and such, and I've never gotton sick - touch wood. On the other hand my flatmate is obsessed with cleaning and won't touch anything dodgy and she has the worst immune system of anyone I know, coincidence?

[herbwormwood]

I can't say that in general I'm too careful about the food I eat/hygiene, eating things I've dropped on the floor and such, and I've never gotton sick - touch wood. On the other hand my flatmate is obsessed with cleaning and won't touch anything dodgy and she has the worst immune system of anyone I know, coincidence?

Maybe she is aware of her reduced immunity and is careful as a consequence. You may be lucky to have a stronger immunity. But I doubt it is as a consequence of not cleaning.

[aubergine]

I get food poisoning really easily, so now I have to be that careful. I think the amount of time meat takles to digest was disguising my problem.

[speedylemons]

gasp! people can get food poisoning more easily than others???

[Tray]

I have a question: how can the mould grow on bread? I have never seen mouldy bread... Here the problem with the bread if you don't eat it in a few days is that it dries and become hard.. when it dries i conserve it and when i have enought dried bread i make a breadcake O_O

[aubergine]

Bread in England goes mouldy after a few days. Maybe it's sabotaged to make you buy more bread?

[Tray]

ahah right! you don't have real bread there you only have english bread

[aubergine]

ahah right! you don't have real bread there you only have english bread

Bread from local bakeries is nice. A world away from the sliced loaves you get in supermarkets.

[Pob]

Bread in plastic bags goes mouldy, bread outside plastic bags goes dry, is my experience of things.

[abrennan]

On the televisions there has been an advertisement for this device that sucks the air out of a plastic bag them seals the end.

"This avocodo has lasted for five days" and he holds up a plastic bag shrunk around and avocado that is still as green as when it was cut. Of course there are all these shots of flesh in bags.

Keeps things fresh

is a five day old avocado really fresh

Antony

[Roxy]

You know, I also think it depends on the quality of your fridge.

We have a really good fridge, and some produce items can last upto 2 weeks in the crisper.

[herbwormwood]

I have been disappointed to find my organic vegetables go off a lot faster than non organic ones.