Fruits and Their Tastes - Essay Example

A fruit has various chemical compounds in it namely proteins or cellulose, starch, vitamins and fructose. Depending on the amount of each and every one of these chemical compounds present in a fruit the tastes may be different. This is because the content of the fruit dictates the specific taste that is in the fruits. The bitterness of a fruit is determined by the chemical compounds that are available in it. For us to understand why there are variations in terms of the tastes in a fruit as it ripens we must understand the process of ripening.

It involves the declining or increasing of the levels of acids or fructose. During the early stages in a fruit formation, the levels of acids contained in a fruit are very high. As the process of formation matures and ripening draws closer, the levels of acids tend to decrease. The acids are slowly converted into fructose as the process of ripening begins and as this happens the fruits start to become sweeter. For instance, mangoes, they are really sour when raw but sweet when ripe. This perfectly reflects the explanation above where the change in composition of acids and fructose is reflected in the change of taste.

There are fruits which have no particular taste. Take the water melon for example. They contain the same (equal) amount of fructose and acids; therefore they cannot be classified as extremely sweet or sour. Their tastes tend to be neutral. (Mauseth, 2003, p 81) 2. How does the ripening of fruit affect the process of seed dispersal? Seed dispersal is simply the method of propagation used by a plant. This is importance for the survival of a plant in its environment. The process that entails ripening is very much useful when it comes to the mechanism of seed dispersal to be used by the fruit.

Fruits that are dispersed by wind are often very light and easy to detach from the plant. They undergo a lot of dehydration so that by the time they ripen they can easily be carried by the wind. The same case applies to fruits which undergo self dispersal. They have to be dry enough so that they can burst and get dispersed. Fruits that are dispersed by animals go through a process of ripening that attracts animals to them either by bright colors or by scent. The enzymes that control this process (ripening) end up causing animals to come near these fruits leading to their dispersal. 3. How do humans interfere in this process by consuming grains and fruits?

When human beings shake a plant whose seed dispersal mechanism is self, the seed just fall onto the ground. The best example here is the beans. (Note that the shaking is necessitated by the need to consume the grains). When the fruit is fully dehydrated human interference speeds up its self dispersal through explosion. When humans eat some fruits whose seed can be swallowed, then they can either destroy the seed itself (by chewing) or dispose the seed out of the digestive system. Depending on the environment where the seed is disposed, it can die or go ahead and germinate.

For a fruit like banana, when it’s harvested, the plant is disposed but then a sucker is planted as its means of propagation. There are cases where humans consume fruits with a conscious intention to preserve its seeds so that they can be prepared for planting. Though rare this leads to conscious seed dispersal and propagation. Humans wait until some fruits ripen fully while they don’