As Watsons (2010) mentioned, the taste of a particular fruit depends on the constituents presented in it. Together with different levels of fructose and glucose that affect the sweetness of fruits, they also contain specific materials like starch, proteins, vitamins, cellulose and sugar. Moreover, all the above-mentioned materials are found inside the fruit and have different proportion depending on the type of fruit. As a matter of fact, fruits with a bigger amount of fructose are sweeter than those that contain more acids.
However, some fruits like oranges could be regarded both sweet and sour as long as they contain almost equal amount of acids and fructose. Moreover, fruits like lemons have always sour taste even after ripening as there is an excessive amount of acids in them. Raw bananas, for example, at the very beginning have more starch, but in the process of ripening the above-mentioned starch converts into fructose. As a consequence, due to the chemical changes that take place inside of the fruit and during the process of ripening a number of sugar increases, and, as a matter of fact, it becomes sweet.
It is worth mentioning that even two fruits of the one type would never have the same taste. To prove that fact there is a need to outline that some fruits have a lot of varieties. Furthermore, there is a variation in the quality of manure, soil, climate, the technique of growing and water. All the stated variations might change the proportion of the chemicals inside the fruit and, as a consequence, those compounds would change the taste of a particular fruit.
According to Simpson (1986), the ripening of fruits can cause seed dispersal beforehand. It is worth admitting that there are two types of fruit dispersal, the one that is called dehiscent, which is observed in a fruit that opens and spreads seeds on the regular basis, and indehiscent, which is seen in fruits that do not open. Moreover, in a case if the particular fruit ripens completely and the seeds are not totally spread away frugivores may assist in the dispersal of them. Furthermore, when a particular plant undergoes a process of ripening, it produces a simple gas which is called ethylene. As a consequence, the abovementioned gas attracts those animals to the fruit, they then consume it and help disperse seeds in their fecal matter. Moreover, some uneaten portion of a fruit left on the ground would be absorbed by the soil.
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Later on, humans may help in the process of dispersing seeds while consuming fruits and grains as long as they almost in all cases throw seeds away. Due to this fact, the only way seeds might be dispersed by people is up to landfills and sewage systems. Moreover, if fruits and grains are taken away from their natural habitat, there are less chances of being dispersed by animals. Taking into consideration the fact that a lot of fruits might be grown by humans in a specific area, seeds dispersal is affected greatly. As a consequence, a lot of seeds could not be spread further than the territory where they are grown.
In addition to the related topic there is a need to outline that seeds rely on their fruity tissue in order to metabolize. Moreover, there is a common misconception that fruit seeds rely on the fruit’s fructose for metabolism. Considering the fact that the fructose is the only component of the fruit that is able to metabolize, there are a lot of other essential materials needed for the seeds’ metabolism. As Biggs (2009) mentioned, starch is a polysaccharide molecule and in almost all cases it is unable to metabolize in its complex form. As a consequence, the starch molecule should be hydrolyzed into a simpler form in order to be metabolized. Hence, the above-mentioned polysaccharide should be digested into fructose, which is a monosaccharide with the components needed for metabolism.
All in all, it is worth outlining that fruits have different tastes due to a range of factors, such as the presence of acids and fructose, manner of ripening, and metabolism issues. Moreover, these matters could be changed in case of humans’ interfering within the process of metabolism and growing.
