Why Are Some Fruits Sweet and Some Sour?

Why are some fruits sweet and some sour?

Introduction to Biology – SCI 115

August 16, 2011

1. Why are some fruits sweet and some sour, whereas others have no specific taste?

Some fruit is sour and some fruit is sweet, each fruit has its own different taste. There are sweet tasting fruit such as grapes, strawberries, watermelon, apples, etc. While there are some sour tasting fruit such as lemons, raw mango, oranges, etc. Now the question would be why does each fruit have its own unique taste. The compound present in each fruit has a lot to do with the taste of the fruit. Each fruit is made of certain acids, vitamins, fructose, proteins, starch, and cellulose. All these things are mixed together to form a certain taste in each fruit. There are different amounts proportioned in different kinds of fruit.

Higher fructose content will make a fruit taste sweeter, while more acids will make a fruit taste sour. The fruit orange has almost the same amount of acids and fructose. That’s why it tastes sweet and sour. The reason why raw mangoes are sour, and ripe ones are sweet would be that raw fruit has more acids until they ripen. When the fruit ripens, the amount of acid decreases in them, while the sugar increases.

Raw bananas have a higher amount of starch that’s then turned into fructose when the banana ripens. Meanwhile when the fruit is ripening there is a chemical change inside. The amount of sugar in the banana increases, while adding to the sweetness of the fruit. “Raw bananas contain more of starch, but it gets converted into fructose when the fruit ripens.” (http://www.bukisa.com/articles). This ripening process causes a chemical change on the inside of the fruit causing the sugar to increase, therefore making the fruit sweeter.

1. Why are some fruits sweet and some sour, whereas others have no specific taste?

Fruits which...