Stored my rutabaga a bit warm, now they're kind of soft. Smell test doesn't work due to their pungency. Can they still be used?

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added 8 months ago

The softness would just be from steam, when you covered the veg before they had fully cooled. Whether it is safe to eat or not depends on how long the veg was kept in the "danger zone", which would depend on how large the veg was cut, etc.

To be honest, it's unlikely that the fridge didn't cool the rutabaga down within the requisite time, and the risk is low with a rutabaga anyway, so I'd think you'll be perfectly fine to use it. But many people are in the "if you ever have a doubt throw it out" camp so it depends on your (literal) appetite for risk.

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mainecook61 added 8 months ago

I assume you are referring to storage in the uncooked state? If you don't have a cool spot where you can keep them a little damp, as in a ventilated plastic bag, it's going to be tough to store them. Stay away from rutabaga until it's really fall!--or tell your CSA that.

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VegaKnight added 3 months ago

Soo, I bought a ruta from the farmer's market in the city two weeks ago, and ever since then it has been stored in my fridge, uncut, unwashed, and raw since being harvest from the farm (I spoke to the farmer who sold me it and said that it was picked the morning of that day). I had bought forty bucks worth of produce that I had zero experience with, that day. A good portion of the bottom half of it is pretty soft, and from the top middle to the root is still hard. It's a decent size (view image).
Any good?

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