Peel appeal
Question: Why do the dried apples that are found in breakfast cereals stay
yellow, while fresh apples quickly turn brown after the skin is peeled off?
Answer: The browning of cut fresh fruit is caused by an enzyme, which causes
invisible chemicals to react with oxygen and become coloured.
This reaction can be slowed by adding antioxidants (vitamin C for example)
which react with any oxygen, or by removing the air from food packaging or by
drying the fruit (the enzyme needs water to work).
Niall Masel
by e-mail, no address supplied
Answer: Industrially produced fruit is…
