Fruits become sweeter as you eat them. Which are the results of technology? Which are the results of hard work?

"Fresh grapes are fragrant and sweet. If they are not sweet, you will not pay for them! Don't miss them if you pass by!" Sweetness has become one of the most important criteria for evaluating whether fruits are delicious. However, are fruits really always this sweet?

Image source: soogif

NO. 1 It’s not my fault that it’s sweet, it’s the fault of humans

If the fruit world also has a reincarnation system, when the current fruits meet their ancestors again, the ancestors will never be able to recognize their descendants, because most of the fruits we see now are completely different from what they looked like hundreds of years ago, and some of them did not even exist in this world before.

For example, the ancestor of watermelon looks like this:

Image source: Baidu

Like this:

Image source: pexels

The flesh is rough and not red, with a distinct fibrous feel and large seeds. Most importantly, the taste is not only not very sweet, but even bitter, which is completely different from the sweet and juicy watermelons of today.

For example, the ancestor of bananas is actually like this:

Image source: Baidu

It is hard and astringent, with huge black seeds growing in the flesh. When it matures and falls to the ground, it will be eaten by some animals as food, but will not be eaten directly as fruit by humans.

In addition to watermelons and bananas, during the long process of fruit "domestication", if fruits also like to talk about gossip and watch hot searches, I believe that the headlines must be dominated by various citrus fruits all year round. The reason for this is mainly because the origins of various citrus fruits are really! Very! Messy!

Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, and lemons that are now ubiquitous did not exist in ancient times. For example, oranges are hybrids of ancient grapefruits and oranges, and lemons are hybrids of ancient citrons and oranges. Our ancestors did not have the luxury of enjoying "artificial fruits" such as oranges and lemons.

Image source: soogif

Therefore, it is not the fault of the fruits that make today's fruits so sweet and delicious, but the result of long-term artificial screening, hard work, transformation, and technological support.

NO. 2 Three ways to make fruits sweeter

But then again, whether it is to make the fruit "cheating" or "cheating", the core is to "tame" it, and then combine it with continuous breeding and screening to make the fruit more delicious. There are currently three common ways to "tame" the fruit to make it sweeter.

Method 1: Increase sugar content

It is easy to understand how to increase the sugar content, just like adding more sugar to a bowl of water will naturally make the water sweeter. As for fruits, it is through continuous optimization of breeding to increase the sugar content of fruits, so that the fruits will naturally taste sweeter.

The best examples are Qingwang and Sunshine Rose, which have been very popular in the grape world in recent years. Normal grapes have a sugar content of about 14 degrees, but when Sunshine Rose matures, it can reach 25 degrees, almost doubling the sugar content. It even tastes "sweet to the point of choking", which is the result of continuous breeding optimization.

Image source: pexels

Most fruits have been optimized in their cultivation, especially in recent decades, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences has made great progress in this field. Generally speaking, as long as the sugar content of a fruit is above 12 degrees, it is easy for people to feel that it is "sweet" and "delicious". Fruits such as watermelon, cherry, longan, mango, etc. can easily reach this sugar content.

Method 2: Reduce acidity

In addition to sugar, natural fruits also contain acid, such as malic acid, citric acid and other sour substances. If you want to make fruits taste sweeter, you can also reduce the acid content in the fruit without increasing the fructose content.

Let’s take the versatile grape as an example. Normal grapes generally have an acid content of about 1%, while the acid content of Sunshine Rose is only about 0.1%. In other words, even if the sugar content is not increased, Sunshine Rose will still taste sweeter.

Image source: pexels

Another example is lemon, which is generally recognized as a sour fruit, but there are actually sweet lemon varieties, which taste very sweet and have almost no sour taste. This is achieved by reducing the acid content. So if you see an online anchor eating lemons with a look of enjoyment on his face, maybe the anchor is eating this kind of sweet lemon.

Method 3: Deacidification Agent

The aforementioned methods of increasing sweetness and reducing acidity are all about optimizing the fruit's lineage. As long as you choose the right variety and plant it normally, you can get delicious fruit. But there is another method on the market that does not target the fruit, but the fruit tree, and that is the deacidifier.

Image source: pexels

Deacidifiers are mainly chemical agents containing arsenate, which inhibit the synthesis of citric acid and promote the early ripening of fruits. Citric acid is not only found in lemons, but also in most fruits such as strawberries, apples, kiwis, bayberries, oranges, peaches, etc. Using deacidifiers during the planting and growth of fruit trees can allow the fruits to be put on the market earlier and taste good. Fruits that are put on the market earlier are often more expensive, so merchants in the industry chain can also obtain higher profits.

But this is not a normal way to optimize fruits. It is a method that is expressly prohibited by the state. It is not only easy to pollute the land and damage fruit trees, but also affects human health. It is a purely cruel method!

NO. 3 What should we do when faced with sweet temptations?

Although fruits are becoming sweeter, it does not mean that "sweet = unhealthy". Technology is always serving to improve our quality of life and happiness. We cannot enjoy the comfortable life brought by technology while complaining a lot.

From the current basic viewpoint of nutrition and medicine, even if fruits are becoming sweeter and sweeter, they still belong to the category of natural food and reasonable consumption is still good for health, but the premise is to eat whole fruits rather than various processed fruit products.

Because all kinds of whole fruits are rich in dietary fiber, when we eat fruits, when the body absorbs the sugar in the fruits, these whole dietary fibers will slow down the absorption of sugar, thus avoiding rapid fluctuations in blood sugar. Therefore, even freshly squeezed juice is not as healthier as eating whole fruits directly. At present, the priority of the contempt chain should be: fresh fruits > fresh juice > sweet drinks with sugar/no sugar.

Image source: pexels

According to the "Balanced Diet Pagoda for Chinese Residents" recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society, a normal adult should consume 200-350g of fresh fruit per day, so as long as you can follow this amount every day, you don't have to worry about eating sweeter fruits damaging your health.

Another important point is to try not to eat fruits that are put on the market too early. Although the state has banned the use of deacidifiers, it is still possible that a small number of buyers will deceive fruit farmers into using them due to profit. And it is impossible to tell the difference between fruits that have been deacidified and those that have been put on the market too early.

Therefore, in order to avoid accidentally eating such fruits that are prone to excessive heavy metals, try to maintain the traditional eating habits of "eating at the right time" and eat seasonal fruits that are normally on the market. Moreover, not buying fruits that are on the market in advance can also save you a lot of money!

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Sang Zili, a registered nutritionist in China.

Review experts: Huang He, Li Chunli, Xu Xiaoping

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