My Science School

The cells of the raw fruit or vegetable are tightly packed and are held rigidly together by a carbohydrate called pectin which forms a strong bond with the walls of the cells and cements the cell together. As the fruit ripens, enzymes in the cells dissolve the pectin. When this happens the cells are no longer tightly bound to each other and the fruit becomes soft to the touch. Heating also dissolves the pectin. That is why vegetables and fruit become soft when cooked.

Rather than focusing on the ripeness of fruit to try and manipulate your diet into being healthier, consider the many other factors that can affect the quality and nutritive value of your food, such as whether a fruit is in season, or if it has been frozen. Some other factors to think about include the fruit’s time to market, as well as the temperature and humidity it has been exposed to during the shipping process. Eating ripe fruit is almost always more enjoyable, from a taste perspective, and it should have the same or a greater effect on your health as eating an under ripe fruit.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Mountaineers find it time-consuming and difficult to brew a good cup of tea or cook food, especially as they climb higher. You just can’t make your usual cup that cheers on the top of Mount Everest.

Water normally starts boiling when it reaches a temperature of 100  (or 212 ). But this is true only if you are at sea level. As you go higher, due to a fall in the atmospheric pressure, water starts boiling at a lower temperature. (70  or 158  on the summit of Mount Everest!)

This heat is not enough to extract the best flavour from the tea leaves. Cooking in a saucepan or pressure cooker also takes much longer on mountain tops.

 

Picture Credit : Google