Moldy pepper. Why?

chowhound

New member
This pepper was perfect on the outside.
Any idea why it was moldy inside? The whitish stuff was fuzzy, the greenish black stuff was like bread mold.
And yes, I'm taking that bad boy back to the town grocer tomorrow. :furious: I've learned to save my receipts no matter what I'm buying.
 

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homecook

New member
All I can say is eeeewwwww!! I would definitely be taking it back. Maybe from shipping......cold, warm, cold warm..........from truck to store to counter. Obviously it wasn't stored right. That's my guess.
 

FryBoy

New member
I would never eat anything like that -- some molds are extremely poisonous, and you have no way of knowing whether this is one of them. When in doubt, throw it out (or take it back and demand a refund).
 

Love2"Q"

New member
mold is in everything organic ..
but it needs a few things to grow ..
it is a long story .. i would look to see if there are
any pin holes in the pepper ..but this could be root born ..
there are some fertilizers people use that are coming into question right now ..
 

chowhound

New member
That makes two of us, Fryboy (lol).
Yeah, could be anything, Q. I buy a yellow, I buy a red, and that's what I see when I cut the ends off of the red.
Makes you wonder if I was just tossing it on the grill to roast...
I've always wondered that about spuds, too. Lately I've been running into some real bad potatoes when cutting them up for fries or mashed. What if I was baking them whole? Does that black crap that's in them, skin looking OK mind you, become edible? Yuk!
 

FryBoy

New member
...I've always wondered that about spuds, too. Lately I've been running into some real bad potatoes when cutting them up for fries or mashed. What if I was baking them whole? Does that black crap that's in them, skin looking OK mind you, become edible? Yuk!
I've had the same concerns. I always cut out the black parts when I peel or cut up potatoes, and sometimes I find rather funky parts under the peel, and occasionally I cut a potato in half and find a strange hollow area inside, lined with what looks like fungus. No way to see any of that if you bake the potatoes whole.
 

High Cheese

Saucier
I try to be careful in this hot and humid weather. I don't even like defrosting in the sink these days. I guess you could return it, but chit happens.
 

chowhound

New member
I took it back an hour ago. Traded it in on a loaf of French bread.
The manager first asked me if I wanted to exchange it for another red pepper, but I told her no, last night's dinner was already over...
 

High Cheese

Saucier
I've cut into bell peppers before to find about a table spoon of water. That was weird....or a little mini-me bell pepper growing inside.
 

chowhound

New member
Now that's interesting. I wonder if the water would eventually lead to mold. Obviously some kind of moisture was inside that one last night for it to get moldy.
 

dansdiamond

Food Sound Eng.
Gold Site Supporter
Fryboy is Right.
Are Molds Dangerous?

Yes, some molds cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems. And a few molds, in the right conditions, produce “mycotoxins,” poisonous substances that can make you sick.
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Mold doesn't care WHERE it grows.

Even dry foods get moldy. I had some grits, instant mashed potatoes and even some whole wheat flour that got moldy!

When in doubt, THROW IT OUT!
 

buckytom

Grill Master
there are plenty of bad molds, but don't forget about good ones like those in cheese.

unless you're allergic to mold, or have immunity or respiratory problems, i wouldn't sweat it and just trim out the moldy spots, so long as the rest of the flesh looked ok.

there's such a thing as being too clean that it can make you sick.
 
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Tomo

New member
As a farmer of peppers in South Africa, we are currently experiencing this problem of mould inside the peppers fresh off the plant. It can be from tiny insects boring holes into the pepper, thereby letting in air and moisture = mould. Or, in extreme heat, the stalk "cracks" making a small hole and again = mould.
We are having a presentation done later next week from a plant pathologist with regards to this problem, and will post some more findings.
Hope that this helps a bit
 

buckytom

Grill Master
tomo, i'd be very interested in what you found out about the pepper boring insects.

i get them in my peppers, even very hot ones, as soon as the pepper begins to ripen so i have to pick all of me peppers very small.

insecticide works, but you have to apply it at just the right time (or frequently) for it to work. i try to avoid using any chemicals in my garden if at all possible.

and welcome to nct!
 
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