Sunday Science: Ripening fruit 週日科學：水果的成熟

Ripening fruit 水果的成熟

Have you ever noticed that fruit left in a bowl with ripe

bananas spoils quickly? This week we're going to find out why.

What you will need:

Thirteen unripe tomatoes (green)

Four ripe bananas

Three unripe bananas (green)

Ziplock bags

Paper bags

Three bowls

Sticky labels (or paper and sticky tape)

▲ As you make up each bag or bowl, label it so that you can keep track.

▲ Place a tomato and a ripe banana in a ziplock bag. Seal the bag. Make up another bag exactly the same.

▲ Place a tomato and a ripe banana in a paper bag. Seal the bag. Make up another bag exactly the same.

▲ Place a tomato and a ripe banana in a bowl. Make up another bowl exactly the same.

▲ Place a tomato and an unripe banana each in a sealed ziplock bag, a sealed paper bag, and a bowl. Make up another two bags and a bowl exactly the same.

▲ Place an unripe tomato in a ziplock bag, a paper bag and a bowl. These are your control tomatoes. Seal the bags.

▲ Put one of each type of bag or bowl in the fridge.

Leave the others on the counter.

▲ After a few hours check on each bag and bowl and note any changes that have occurred.

▲ Let the fruit sit for two days, checking it every few hours. If you like you can eat each fruit as it becomes ripe, so that you don't waste it. Do you think the fruit tastes different depending on how it was ripened?(catherine Thomas, staff writer)

你曾經注意到若碗中放了成熟的香蕉，其他水果也會很快跟著腐壞嗎？本週我們將探索原因何在。

所需材料︰

十三顆未成熟的蕃茄（綠色）

四根成熟的香蕉

三根未成熟的香蕉（綠色）

密封袋

紙袋

三個大碗

標籤貼紙（或是紙和膠帶）

▲ 當你在準備密封袋和碗時，將它們個別貼上標籤以利記錄。

▲ 將一顆蕃茄和一根成熟的香蕉放入一個密封袋中後密封，再另外準備完全相同的一份。

▲ 將一顆蕃茄和一根成熟的香蕉放入一個紙袋中封好，再準備一份完全相同的。

▲ 將一顆蕃茄和一根成熟的香蕉放入一個碗中，然後再準備一份完全相同的。

▲ 將一顆蕃茄和一根未成熟的香蕉做為一組，各放一份至可封口的密封袋、可封口的紙袋和碗中。接著再另外各別準備一份完全相同的。

▲ 分別密封袋、紙袋和碗中放入一顆未成熟的蕃茄，這三份是你的控制組。將袋子封口。

▲ 將每種分類的碗或袋子各放一份至冰箱中。剩下的則留在流理台上。

▲ 經過數小時後，檢查每一個碗和袋子，並記錄下變化的情形。

▲ 將水果放置兩天，每隔幾個小時就檢查一下。水果熟了的話可以吃掉，這樣比較不會浪費。你覺得用不同方式熟成的水果口感也不同嗎？ （翻譯︰袁星塵）