{"id":992,"date":"2026-07-22T21:01:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/?p=992"},"modified":"2026-07-22T21:01:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:01:21","slug":"whats-this-black-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/?p=992","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s this black stuff?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The black areas in those potatoes are most likely\u00a0internal black spot (internal bruising)<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0blackheart\/internal discoloration<\/strong>, rather than mold.<\/p>\n

From the photo, I notice that:<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
    \n
  • The dark patches are\u00a0inside the potato flesh<\/strong>, not on the surface.<\/li>\n
  • They appear\u00a0firm and localized<\/strong>, not fuzzy or slimy.<\/li>\n
  • Several potatoes have similar dark streaks or oval-shaped black areas, suggesting a problem that occurred during growth, harvesting, storage, or transport rather than a single rotten potato.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The most common causes are:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Bruising during harvesting or handling<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Impacts can damage cells inside the potato without breaking the skin.<\/li>\n
      • The damaged tissue later turns dark brown or black.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Storage conditions<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • Potatoes stored too cold or with poor ventilation can develop internal discoloration.<\/li>\n
        • Oxygen deficiency inside large piles of potatoes can also cause dark centers (\u201cblackheart\u201d).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • Natural physiological disorders<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • Sometimes potatoes develop internal necrosis due to environmental stress while growing, such as heat or irregular watering.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            <\/p>\n

            Are they safe to eat?<\/h3>\n
              \n
            • If the potato is otherwise firm, smells normal, and the black area is small:<\/strong>\u00a0You can usually\u00a0cut out the dark portion<\/strong>\u00a0and use the rest.<\/li>\n
            • If the potato is soft, has an unpleasant odor, is leaking liquid, or the black discoloration is extensive throughout:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s best to\u00a0discard it<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Looking at your photo<\/h3>\n

              Because\u00a0many of the potatoes have fairly large dark centers<\/strong>, I would be cautious. If every potato in the batch has extensive black discoloration, it may indicate the batch was poorly stored or damaged. In that case, returning or discarding them is reasonable, especially if the dark areas extend deep into the flesh.<\/p>\n

              If you haven\u2019t cooked them yet, cut one completely in half. If the black area is confined to a small section, trim it away. If it spreads through much of the potato or the texture is off, don\u2019t eat it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              The black areas in those potatoes are most likely\u00a0internal black spot (internal bruising)\u00a0or\u00a0blackheart\/internal discoloration, rather than mold. From the photo,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994,"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions\/994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipesecrets.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}