Attractive- flavour, texture, appearance [www.QinSen.com]
Source of vitamins (Vit C), starch, oil, carbohydrates [www.QinSen.com]
Cells walls are dietary fibre [www.QinSen.com]
Generally acidic and contain sugar [www.QinSen.com]
Contain antioxidants [www.QinSen.com]
5+ a day (incl of vegetables) [www.QinSen.com]
Fruit are living entities - respire, undergo developmental changes, ripen and senesce (programmed death) [www.QinSen.com]
From a Food Science perspective [www.QinSen.com]
Highly perishable - influenced by storage conditions
Undergo structural and compositional changes during development and ripening
Objectives of research –
to improve quality,
prolong shelf-life,
develop storage techniques
develop processing techniques suitable for each fruit.
Freezing
Canning
Drying
Need to understand the biology of each type of fruit in order to achieve these objectives.
Definition of a fruit
A ripened ovary, seeds and any structures with which they are combined
Edible part is usually the pericarp and other tissues around the seed
Some vegetables contain seeds and are therefore botanically fruits e.g. pumpkin, squash, courgette, tomatoes, cucumber, capsicums, chilli, runner beans
There is a crude distinction made between fruits and vegetables on the basis of how they are consumed:
Those eaten alone or as a dessert are fruits
Apples, peaches, pears
Those eaten with a main course meal are vegetables
Tomatoes, cucumber, squash
The botanical definition is used
Fertilisation
ovules develop into seeds, ovary, develops into the fruit.
See handout for components of the flower from which fruit develop
In general, fruit expand initially by cell division and then by cell enlargement.
Fruit undergo developmental changes, including loss of chlorophyll, formation of coloured pigments, tissue softening.
At some point in development senescence begins and the fruit abscises from the plant in readiness for release of seeds.
Ripe

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