Tomatoes with dark "blotches"...can I eat?

[Jeffross1968]

So all of my tomato plants were ravaged by blight...again. Luckily it held off long enough for me to get some tomatoes. Slowly but surely, even though the plants are dead except for about the top 10% of each plant, tomatoes are blushing still. However, some of them blush but also develop a dark "bruise" on one or more areas. Cutting them open, you can see that much if not most of the tomato appears fine. Can we cut and eat around the bruise?

[imafan26]

Sounds like you have anthracnose. It is a fungal disease which also kills plants and is prevalent in wet soils. According to the publication, mildly diseased fruit can still be eaten but are usually limited because of the mold growth.

https://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell. ... o_Anth.htm

[applestar]

What I do with blemished tomatoes is to cut out -- widely with a safety margin of good flesh -- the bad part (Tomato surgery, if you will -- be sure to sharpen your knife before you begin for best results )

Since most tomatoes are compartmentalized, when in doubt you can cut away the entire segment that was infected, and find the adjacent compartments to be OK. Sometimes, the infection gets in the central core and affects the entire fruit -- those are goners.

Most of the time, the remaining fruits are OK. But fungal hyphae ("roots") might have already reached into portions that are not visibly affected. You can tell because sugar, first and foremost, has already been "digested". Generally you can detect "off" sections of the fruit by smell or flavor, and sometimes by texture.

If you cut into a bad part, be sure to clean your knife and hands before cutting into good parts so as not to cross-contaminate.

[gixxerific]

Applestar gave an excellent run down.

I generally cut out the bad part, if it is too bad I just trash the fruit or save seed from it at least. But as Apple said if there is good flesh where your cut it out than all is good. If it is discolored discard it. She also mentioned cleaning the knife which I stress maybe too much. When I'm done with a batch I am all pruned from washing everything a thousand times.

[Jeffross1968]

Ok, good. Thanks for the replies. I not only wanted to eat some of these, but can them. When I've been cutting them out, I've cut out a pretty wide berth around the spot. I'd rather waste a little good stuff than to eat/can some bad stuff.

[gixxerific]

Ok, good. Thanks for the replies. I not only wanted to eat some of these, but can them. When I've been cutting them out, I've cut out a pretty wide berth around the spot. I'd rather waste a little good stuff than to eat/can some bad stuff.

I do the exact thing. If in doubt throw it out and all is good.

[n8young]

I get the same lesions on my tomatoes, every year. I only see it on tomatoes that have been sitting inside "ripening" for about a week or more. I never knew what it was. Thanks for the info!!!

[Jeffross1968]

I appreciate all the help. I canned 12 quarts of salsa and as many quarts of tomato sauce today

Had to stop there because my main burner element blew up on me

[mattie g]

I get the same lesions on my tomatoes, every year. I only see it on tomatoes that have been sitting inside "ripening" for about a week or more. I never knew what it was. Thanks for the info!!!

I get the same on some tomatoes if they sit for too long. I figure it's just them rotting.