White mold on blueberries - salvageable?

[Steve Freides]

Hi - posting from google groups 'cause I'm on the road and w/ a
different computer.

I brought a container of fresh blueberries with me - they haven't been
refrigerated for the last two days and they'd already been in my
refrigerator for about a week before I left. Now they are starting to
show some white "stuff," which I assume is mold, in a spot or two.

Are they still safe to eat in any form and, if so, should I wash the
white stuff off, should I just try to avoid the ones that have the
mold already on them, etc.? I imagine there is a scientific answer
here but I'd appreciate a practical one. Obviously I don't want to
give myself food poisoning but I'm hoping this white stuff isn't so
terrible - you tell me, please. Today is Friday - I'd love to find a
way to get another day or two, and another handful or two, out of
them, not so much for frugality's sake as because I'm busy and getting
to a grocery store will be tough.

Thanks in advance.

-S-

[ImStillMags]

dump them. I wouldn't eat them.

[Chemo the Clown]

On Sep 9, 5:23 am, Steve Freides <steve.frei...@gmail.com> wrote:

Try 'em. If you get sick then you'll know better next time.

[Kent]

"Steve Freides" <steve....@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:6536cbab-fd24-4e29...@l7g2000vbz.googlegroups.com...

Sometimes there is a fine whitish dust on the surface of the berries. I
think this is normal mold. If it is spots here and there and they're more
dense I'd wash them off and eat. I've never had a problem with that. I eat
blueberries every day and now and then I wash. If it's a few throw out the
highly spotty ones, and wash and eat.

If you're going to cook them, as with blueberry pancakes, I think the risk
of anything adverse would be lessened. When I make blueberry pancakes the
blueberry gets very hot, not boiling, but hot, to the point where you have
to wait a bit before consumption.

Kent

[sf]

Pick out the moldy blueberries, use the rest.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Steve Freides" <steve....@gmail.com> wrote

> Hi - posting from google groups 'cause I'm on the road and w/ a
> different computer.
>
> I brought a container of fresh blueberries with me - they haven't been
> refrigerated for the last two days and they'd already been in my
> refrigerator for about a week before I left. Now they are starting to
> show some white "stuff," which I assume is mold, in a spot or two.
>
> Are they still safe to eat in any form and, if so, should I wash the
> white stuff off, should I just try to avoid the ones that have the
> mold already on them, etc.?

Depending on condition, if it was just a few I may wash and eat the good
ones. On the road, I'd definitely not want to get sick. I'd toss them.

I can see you now, intestines screaming for release the the sign says "next
rest stop 50 miles"

[Steve Freides]

I'm reporting in - I didn't die or otherwise suffer any ill effect from
the white mold I washed off the blueberries. I had more of them this
morning, Monday, but I'm going to get rid of the rest and buy new later
today.

-S-

[Chemo the Clown]

On Sep 13, 7:54 am, "Steve Freides" <st...@kbnj.com> wrote:
> Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> > "Steve Freides" <steve.frei...@gmail.com> wrote

Well, there ya go, cupcake.

[Roy]

I have wild blueberries on my property.
They always have "white" powder on them.
Don't sweat it, it won't hurt you.
Once blueberries are washed they should be either
processed further or frozen or they will mold.

[James Silverton]

I suppose they do. Is the whiteness due to wild yeasts like on grapes?

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not* not.jim....@verizon.net

[Roy]

Excerpt from the Boston Globe:

Blueberries always seem to be covered with a fine white powder that washes off with water. What is it? Mold?

It is called bloom and is completely natural and safe to eat - a waxy material the plant produces to protect the berries from sunlight and to hold in moisture. You could think of it as a sort of ChapStick.

You should actually look for blueberries with a bloom. This indicates they have not been handled excessively. Once the bloom is gone, the berries will spoil more quickly, so it's best to wash blueberries just before using them.

Mold is quite another matter: It should be easy to distinguish from bloom, because it's much fuzzier and won't just rub …

[Don T Lookier]

What if my sponsor said it was fermented and if I eat it I would have to
pick up a chip,--Just sayin whatif?

"Chemo the Clown" <bhans...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:f226f909-a453-4243...@f24g2000prb.googlegroups.com...

--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ne...@netfront.net ---

[Catfood Chef]

What if it is deer snot? They do not eat everyone they lick.

[merryb]

LOL!!

[James Silverton]

You name what they don't eat! The only thing I know is Periwinkle (Vinca
minor). They eat houseplants, English Ivy, Pachysandra, Prickly Pear and
on and on!

[Steve Freides]

> bloom, because it's much fuzzier and won't just rub �

Actual information - many thanks!

-S-

[Steve Freides]

I love it when you call me cupcake, honey.

-S-

[Mr. Bill]

As with grapes...that "white stuff" most likely is yeast. Wash it off. Unless the berries are mushy, they probably are just fine. Mushy and/or slimy, discard them.

[gagea...@gmail.com]

If you have plastic (tupperware-like) bowls, install a FiZZ GiZ plug valve in the lid of one of them (drill 5/32″ hole and pull the plug through). Make sure your berries are completely dry before putting them in your bowl. With pretty much any CO₂ dispenser, you can purge most of the air from the container. Fit the top onto the bowl, leaving one corner open to vent the air while dispensing CO₂ into the container through the FiZZ GiZ plug valve. No air means no oxygen. You’ll get another 5-7 days enjoyment of mold-free berries while the modified atmosphere inside your container protects your berries from mold growth. For a scholarly article explaining how it works, go to www.USDA.gov and type "ControlAtmosphere.pdf" in the search bar.

[Cabrito del Bosque]

On 5/24/2015 9:55 AM, gagea...@gmail.com wrote:
> If you have plastic (tupperware-like) bowls, install a FiZZ GiZ plug valve in the lid of one of them (drill 5/32″ hole and pull the plug through). Make sure your berries are completely dry before putting them in your bowl. With pretty much any CO₂ dispenser, you can purge most of the air from the container. Fit the top onto the bowl, leaving one corner open to vent the air while dispensing CO₂ into the container through the FiZZ GiZ plug valve. No air means no oxygen. You’ll get another 5-7 days enjoyment of mold-free berries while the modified atmosphere inside your container protects your berries from mold growth. For a scholarly article explaining how it works, go to www.USDA.gov and type "ControlAtmosphere.pdf" in the search bar.
>

Fascinating!

[sf]

On Sun, 24 May 2015 11:29:13 -0600, Cabrito del Bosque
<va...@loma.alta> wrote:

> On 5/24/2015 9:55 AM, gagea...@gmail.com wrote:

> > If you have plastic (tupperware-like) bowls, install a FiZZ GiZ plug valve in the lid of one of them (drill 5/32? hole and pull the plug through). Make sure your berries are completely dry before putting them in your bowl. With pretty much any CO? dispenser, you can purge most of the air from the container. Fit the top onto the bowl, leaving one corner open to vent the air while dispensing CO? into the container through the FiZZ GiZ plug valve. No air means no oxygen. You’ll get another 5-7 days enjoyment of mold-free berries while the modified atmosphere inside your container protects your berries from mold growth. For a scholarly article explaining how it works, go to www.USDA.gov and type "ControlAtmosphere.pdf" in the search bar.
> >
> Fascinating!

A vinegar and water rinse will work too. A better idea is not to buy
so much in the first place.
http://food52.com/blog/6970-how-to-keep-berries-fresh-for-longer

--

sf

[DJD0p e]

I touched mine, and it kinda evaporated, so I think it’s just ice? But there is like giant mounds and i don’t know about those.
> -S-

[songbird]

DJD0p e wrote:
> I touched mine, and it kinda evaporated, so I think it’s just ice? But there is like giant mounds and i don’t know about those.

a little bit of mold won't likely kill you unless you
have some strange lack of stomach acid or a malfunctioning
immune system.

have you had reactions to molds before?

if so avoid.

otherwise eat a small amount and be ok.

large mounds? nope, i'd not eat that. those are spoiled.
feed 'em to the worms.

i have had to pick a lot of moldy berries out of the ones
we've been buying this season. a lot of them. more than i'd
like, but i figure with covid they probably don't have very
highly paid people working any more and those that are are
probably scrambling to just get it done let alone quality
control. still i could get enough good berries out of the
box to make it still worth buying.

so if you can pick the rotten stuff out and feed that to
the worms and then rinse what is left and eat those you
should be ok.

if they are all much and growing fungi then that's the
time to let it go to the worms - they like things like that...


songbird

[Roy]

Most likely "blueberry BLOOM"...don't worry just process by eating or cooking.
Do it NOW.
===

[Sheldon Martin]

Blueberries typically develope a white powdery looking blush while
still on the plant, several smooth skinned fruit the same like plums,
grapes, etc. Where did you obtain them, if from a market I'd imagine
you'd notice whether all the other baskets of berries the same, and
you could/should have asked the produce manager about your concern.
Odds are you'd be told that it's yeast and they're perfectly safe to
consume, just don't go stuffing those yeasty beebleberries into your
vagina lest they ferment and then you'll be like little Lulu who'd
need a friend like Sluggo or moi who'd be honored to lap up your
vaginal spirits. LOL

[Dave Smith]

Good answer. I wonder if the OP waited 9 years for a response.