Page 419 - AWSAR 2.0
P. 419

 ‘No, Mamma.
‘Apple contains a lot of nutrients, just like milk, which makes you stronger and improves your immunity.’
‘Were villagers eating apples every day to be healthy, Mamma?’
‘No, Pillu, apple grows more during the winter, and fresh apples cannot be stored for many days.’
‘Oh... Mamma ... then how those people stay healthy when they don’t get apples?’
His question awakened the researcher within me; I started thinking, how to explain to him easily about the storage of apples for a longer period without spoilage?
‘Pillu, if we remove the water from apples, we can store them.’
‘Mamma, how can we remove water from apples? Should we squeeze them?’
‘No, Pillu ...’
‘Wait, Mamma. I got an idea. Can we dry apples like how you dry my wet
clothes in the sun?’
‘Good thought, Pillu. Yes, we
can cut apples into pieces and
dry them in the sun to remove
water. But, apples lose their
pleasant appearance and turn
brown.’
‘I don’t like brown apples,
Mamma! Is there any other way
to remove water from apples?’
‘Yes, Pillu, there is another way
to dry them. It is called hot air
drying. You can keep apple
slices in a box with hot air.
But, using hot air also causes
nutrients.’
‘Oh, Mamma...If heat is not good for apples, then why can’t we keep them in the fridge to dry?’
‘No Pillu, we can’t remove water from apples in the fridge. We can only store them for a couple of days.’
Ms. Sandhya R. Shewale || 395
‘How nice it would be if we can dry apples in the cold, Mamma?’
‘Yes, Pillu, we can. There is a technique to do it, which is known as freeze-drying. Apples are frozen so that water present in them converts into an ice form and then ice is removed to make it dry. Freeze-dried apples will have good quality.’
‘Ahh... Mamma, then it’s a good way to dry apples.’
‘But Pillu, this way is too costly, and it takes a very long time to dry.’
‘Oh, then can we fry apples like the way we fry potato to make potato chips, Ma.’
‘We can do that Pillu, but frying reduces sweetness and makes them charred like caramel candy. It also makes apples unhealthy as they will absorb too much oil.’
‘Is there any way out to dry apples without hot or cold conditions, Mamma? Can’t you do something in your lab to dry apples?’
“Yes, Pillu. I am your supermom! I can dry apples in a ‘cool’ way. Do you want to know how?” ‘Yes, Mamma.’
‘Pillu, you know apples turn brown quickly because of enzymes and heating at a high temperature. To avoid enzymatic browning, I dip the apple slices in a chemical (potassium metabisulfite) solution for a few seconds. Then, keep them in an infrared oven for a few seconds and immediately cool them.
‘What is this new oven, Ma?’
‘Pillu, this oven is much similar to our home microwave oven. Lights inside the oven generate infrared heat waves, which quickly heat the slices. Because of this, enzymes die, and the apple doesn’t turn brown anymore! Further, I dry these slices in a low-humidity air dryer at a lower temperature.’
   Pillu, in a small village, there
was a BIG apple tree. People used to pluck and eat apples as they were bright red, as sweet as sugar and healthy too. Do you know why apples are good for your health?
  loss of apple
























































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