Worldbeginnerdraft
Fruit
Also searched as: fruit, apples, berries, bananas
In short: Fruit ripens, browns and sets by the same rules: ripening gas, enzymes, acid and pectin.
Picture it
Like a fuse: once lit, it keeps burning even after picking.
What happens
Many fruits keep ripening after harvest. A gas called sets this off: starch turns into sugar and the flesh softens. Once cut, many fruits brown through an enzyme. Their pectin can be set into jam with sugar and acid.
Why it matters
Knowing the rules means storing fruit longer, ripening it on purpose and keeping it bright.
Rules of thumb
- Store apples apart from other fruit, unless you want it to ripen.
- Sprinkle cut fruit with lemon.
Sources · 1
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Früchte