Are bell peppers with brown seeds safe to eat?

Sometimes when cooking with bell peppers, the seeds on the inside are brown (instead of white). What causes this, and are the peppers safe to eat?

food-safety bell-peppers

Best Answer

A quick google brought this:

In this case, the brown ones may have been closest to mature or viable. When fully ripe, most peppers seeds are supposed to be brown or tan. not white.

In my experience, peppers with brown are just old and withered. They are safe, just not as tasty. Unless the brown thing is mold, in which case they may be poisonous.

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Quick Answer about "Are bell peppers with brown seeds safe to eat?"

On the other hand, there are brown seeds which signify that the pepper seeds are fast drying out. This is, however, a natural phenomenon, and you can still consume the pepper seeds.

Why is the inside of my bell pepper Brown?

Your bell pepper may be brown inside if the plant got blossom rot while it was growing its fruits. Blossom end rot occurs when the flower on the plant starts to rot before the fruit has fully formed, introducing moisture to the fruit, which may get inside and cause it to start breaking down.

What color should bell pepper seeds be?

A pepper must have been fully ripe for the seeds to be viable. That is it should have been red, bright yellow or orange. If it was green, the seeds were immature and will not viable.

Is it safe to eat a bell pepper with moldy seeds?

Firm fruits like bell peppers (yes, it's technically a fruit) that have a low moisture content can still be eaten if mold appears. Just cut around the small mold spots and it should be good to go.

How do you know when a bell pepper is bad?

How To Tell If a Bell Pepper Is Bad?

Are soft to the touch or have large sunken spots. In most cases, that's a sign they've lost some moisture, and they're no good.
Are starting to rot or grow mold. You can cut out small parts spoiled or damaged parts, like you likely do for most veggies. ...
Smell off in any way.

10 Health Benefits of Bell Peppers - Superfood Spotlight

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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