# What causes apples and other fruit to become "milly" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331 "2008-04-14T17:53:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/1 "2008-04-14T17:53:02Z")
The title basically says everything. What causes an apple or other fruit to become milly? Is that even the right word? I just bit into an apple and there was no juice, just nasty half sweet cottony stuff inside. I’ve had this happen with peaches and oranges as well. But never with a pear… What gives? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/2 "2008-04-14T17:56:19Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] The title basically says everything. What causes an apple or other fruit to become milly? Is that even the right word? I just bit into an apple and there was no juice, just nasty half sweet cottony stuff inside. I’ve had this happen with peaches and oranges as well. But never with a pear… What gives? [/QUOTE] I have no idea, but I think the word you’re looking for is mealy. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/3 "2008-04-14T17:58:28Z")
Mealy. And it can happen to pears, too. Some varieties of apples just seem to be that way all the time. Others (and oranges) get that way when they sit around too long. I think with peaches it happens when they are picked too green. I know if I try to buy peaches from a big chain grocery, they often go from hard to mealy, but if I get them from the local organic co-op they ripen just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/4 "2008-04-14T18:04:19Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] Mealy. And it can happen to pears, too. Some varieties of apples just seem to be that way all the time. Others (and oranges) get that way when they sit around too long. I think with peaches it happens when they are picked too green. I know if I try to buy peaches from a big chain grocery, they often go from hard to mealy, but if I get them from the local organic co-op they ripen just fine. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the correction! Mealy. I find the same things when I go to large chain stores. We try to go to the coop as much as possible or Trader Joes. Is there some type of chemical reaction in the “meat” of the fruits? ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/5 "2008-04-14T19:29:56Z")
To keep your fruits and veggies fresh, try storing them in green bags. You can find them in your local grocery store. Saw them advertised on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/6 "2008-04-14T22:43:04Z")
They are starting to break down when they are mealy. Eat them quickly at that point. Think of a mealy apple as the ninety year old neighbor with the hanging skin. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/7 "2008-04-15T01:44:07Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] They are starting to break down when they are mealy. Eat them quickly at that point. Think of a mealy apple as the ninety year old neighbor with the hanging skin. [/QUOTE] Eww. No way I’m eating them now. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/8 "2008-04-15T03:12:07Z")
I’ve always figured there must be some sort of chemical change going on in apples as they age, because aside from the texture differences, I’m mildly allergic to out-of-season apples (mouth and throat itchiness, aka oral allergy syndrome), while in-season ones don’t give me any problems. Any guesses as to why that might be? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/9 "2008-04-15T03:19:37Z")
Tomatoes can get this way too. When I think of a fruit being “mealy”, it conjures up a granular texture and mouthfeel that just …isn’t right, and there is generally a “dryness” associated with the fruit as well. A good way to demonstrate this texture (to me) is to leave a tomato in the refrigerator (which IMO you should never do anyway, but my wife somehow likes them like this) for about a week and slice it up and eat it. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of mealiness. As to the cause, I agree with the other poster that said it has to do with some kind of chemical/organic breakdown where the fruit is losing it’s freshness. As for apples, you can usually tell they are getting this way before you even bite into it because the skin gets “loose”. That 90-year old analogy is pretty adept, if a bit gross. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-apples-and-other-fruit-to-become-milly/445331/10 "2008-04-15T06:34:23Z")
According to the book [On Food and Cooking](http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208240915&sr=1-1) by Harold McGee, there is a lot of air space between the cells of an apple. When the apple gets overripe the cells dry out and their walls soften, so that when you bite the apple the cells are pushed apart from each other into the empty space rather than breaking open and releasing juices.