We’ve all been there — you grab a perfectly ripe, juicy peach, slice it open, and suddenly your excitement turns to concern. Instead of a clean, golden center, you’re greeted by something that looks… fuzzy? Powdery? Maybe even a little alarming. So what exactly is that strange white and reddish substance near the pit? Is it mold, or is your peach still safe to eat?
Let’s break it down.
What You’re Seeing: It’s (Probably) Not Mold
Good news first: that unusual white or powdery-looking stuff inside your peach is most likely not mold. What you’re seeing is something called “split pit” or “internal breakdown.”
This happens when a peach ripens too quickly or experiences stress while growing — often due to rapid temperature changes or inconsistent watering. The pit can crack open, and the flesh around it becomes mealy, discolored, or crystallized. The reddish-brown streaks are from natural pigments in the fruit reacting with oxygen, while the pale, grainy material is just dried or crystallized sugars and proteins from the peach itself.
It looks weird, yes — but it’s not dangerous.
When It Could Be Mold
There are cases where a peach can go bad from the inside, but the signs are a bit different:
