How to tell the difference between sugar crystals and mold in dried fruit?
I am making dried pears and I noticed that there are some white lumps on the surface of the fruit:
This resource says that this phenomenon may occur in figs and that it is sugar crystallizing. However, pears are much less sugary than figs and therefore I am not sure whether this is the same phenomenon.
There is no bad smell and they still taste good. Is there some method that I can use to test whether this is indeed sugar?
The pears were pre-dried in hot-vent oven, then placed into a dedicated fruit dryer for a couple of hours, then placed on a clean sheet of paper on the radiator.
Best Answer
If you are talking about the cut surface of the pears, especially near the core cut-out, those little white dots may be not sugar, but a normal occurrence in pears, little gritty cells in the fruit. They are what crunch between your teeth when you eat a pear, aren't harmful, and are not mold. Mold would be in irregular patches likely with a greenish/bluish/grayish tint, and the larger patches would probably look a little furry, or at least have a matte finish, not shiny. This very uniform array of tiny dots (at least what I see) don't look like mold.
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What are the white spots on dried apricots?
As the fruits age, tiny white spots may appear on the skin; this is a natural sugar- ing where fruit sugar crystallizes on the surface. You can freeze dried fruits for even longer storage. To rehydrate fruit, cover with boiling water and allow it to sit two hours or longer.Does dried fruit have mold?
Fruit and dried fruitSome fruits have the ability to harbor mold, especially dried fruits. These include dates, dried and fresh mango, figs, and raisins. Additionally, high-sugar fruits are not good for a mold-free diet because with a weakened immune system, mold can take up residence in your body.What is the white stuff outside of dried figs?
If you've ever wondered, what is the white powder on your Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Dried Figs, you might think it's mold, but more likely, it's actually naturally occurring fruit sugar crystals. This common occurrence is called sugaring on figs.Can bacteria grow on dried fruit?
Even though dried fruits are a very low moisture food, they did appear to harbor bacteria and other microorganisms. Coliforms were found in several of the dried fruits tested and even E. coli in organic raisin samples. Aspergillus type molds were cultured from mango, and raisin samples.Dried Fruit and Diabetes
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