Black stuff in peanuts

December 10, 2007 8:28 PM

What is this black, salty, bug-eggy powder that I find in about 1 of 10 peanuts when I crack them open?

I generally enjoy salty stuff, but the possibility that these are bug eggs sorta disgusts me. Can anybody shed some light on this?

posted by msittig to food & drink (4 answers total)

One in ten from the same source? Or just generally?

A list of peanut diseases here, FWIW.

Gah, I hate to cry wolf, but if I were you I wouldn't eat those.
posted by YamwotIam at 9:51 PM on December 10, 2007

Disclaimer: I am not a peanut farmer - all links via Google. Peanut pests doesn't have any mention of the laying of eggs inside the peanut. I suppose it could be a mould, maybe Sclerotinia minor (from here) or Aspergillus Niger. Enjoy ;-)
posted by tellurian at 10:07 PM on December 10, 2007

I can't find sources, but usually it is just char from being at the bottom of the roaster.
posted by grumpy at 8:12 AM on December 11, 2007

Thanks folks. Yes, consistently over the years from different sources. It's probably not char from the roaster because the particles are round ("eggy") and located *inside* the peanut.

Probably, as tellurian guesses, a mold.
posted by msittig at 8:13 PM on December 11, 2007