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Flavor and appearance
Most fruits contain tiny amounts of more than a hundred different volatile and aromatic
compounds and the combination of these that gives each fruit its characteristic flavor and scent.
Usually one or two compounds predominate. As the fruit ripens, the relative amounts of these
compounds change, some new ones appear and others disappear in the highly complex ripening
process. In the same time flavor, texture and aroma change steadily. Give your next pineapple the
nose test and experience these aromatic chemicals yourself.
Enzymes that cause oxidation that in turn causes surface browning are present in many fruits
and vegetables. Food scientists call this process enzymatic browning, a process that is different from
the browning reaction I discussed under Meat chapter. Enzymatic browning is the same reaction
that makes nuts and seeds rancid (oxidizing the oils) and change the flavor of stored milk products.
Food processors use antioxidants to retard oxidation. Blanching also stops browning by deactivating
the enzymes, while refrigeration slows it drastically and freezing almost stops it. If you keep the
fruit in your freezer a long time and the package is not airtight, oxygen can sneak in and allow the
enzymes to do their nasty work.
The easiest way to prevent browning in freshly cut-up fruit is to dip it into lemon juice. Any
acid will do but lemon juice interferes least with the fruit flavor. Acid halts the enzymatic reaction.
Antioxidant powders is another choice and are available near the canning supplies of the
supermarkets. They contain citric acid, don’t transmit flavor to the fruit and are inexpensive.
Dissolve a small amount in water according to package directions and drop the slices of fruit or
vegetable into the solution for a few seconds.
When you serve cut-up fruits, use either lemon juice or these antioxidant powders to keep
your platter attractive. They are effective for hours. Fruits that don't carry the browning enzymes or
naturally acidic don't turn brown after cut, they include melons, citrus fruits and pineapple.
Fruits have become much more beautiful since the 1930s and 1940s; much larger having a
lovely color and free of blemish as a model's face, but taste has been sacrificed for beauty. Growers
pick fruits when the color is most attractive—for example, Granny Smith apples achieve their
technicolor green before their ripe stage. In the fully ripe stage they turn yellowish green, a color not
quite as attractive to buyers. As a result, consumers have gotten used to blander, firmer fruits and
many even like fruits that way. Fully ripe fruits don't sell well even at farmers' markets. While
technological advances in transportation, storage and refrigeration allow a huge variety of fruits
from all over the world on supermarket shelves, the decrease in flavor is a high price to pay.
There are a few fruits we cannot imagine eating any other way but well chilled, for
example, watermelon. But the flavor of most fruits, like cheeses, bloom at room temperature.
Our taste buds can detect flavors far better when foods are not chilled. Plan ahead when serving
fruits, give them time to warm up.
Desserts Outside Pigeon-Holes
I still haven't covered all the dessert possibilities. Here are some great desserts that don't fit
into any of the categories I’ve discussed.
Cream puffs
Our cream puff pastry is the same as the choux paste in French cuisine. It puffs up in a hot
play © erdosh 338
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