Spend a lot of money to buy a few pounds of strawberries to go home, but when you eat them, you find that some of them are hollow, and some of them look like "crooked melons and cracked dates"...
So some people worry: these "abnormal" strawberries will not be expanded agents, hormones to promote, right? Can I still eat it?
Strawberry "white ass" is the hormone effect?
The part on the strawberry stalk is white, often called "white butt", and the scientific name is white belly fruit. Its formation has nothing to do with hormones, mainly relying on the sun, and the reason for this has to start from anthocyanins.
Anthocyanins are a natural pigment, and the more they are synthesized, the more red and plump the strawberries become.
Anthocyanins have two characteristics: One is that they like to enrich on the tip of the strawberry, so the strawberry turns red first red, and then slowly goes to the stalk [1].
The second is to like the sun, if you encounter rainy weather, or the planting position is not good, the light is insufficient, the anthocyanin synthesis is less, so it is not the turn of the fruit stalk, it can only be "white", becoming a "white ass" [2-3].
Strawberry himself is not willing to "white ass", if you carry the name of "hormone" again, it is really wronged to die.
Are hollow strawberries an expanding agent?
Hollow Strawberry (Source: Network)
There are many reasons for the hollowness of a strawberry, from "family mission" to "external persecution".
The "family mission" of strawberries is its variety, because many strawberry varieties have loved "hollow" for generations, such as sweet Charlie and Dukla. Their flesh density is relatively small, and it is easy to appear small holes in the middle, but this is a normal phenomenon and does not affect their delicious taste.
There are more reasons for "external persecution", such as more water, fertilizer is not suitable, or the sky is hot and cold, strawberries can not withstand it, the body will have a response, causing the outer epidermal cells to grow too fast, the cells inside can not keep up, as soon as the "growth gap" between the internal and external cells is opened, the hollow will come out [1].
For many people to worry about the bulking agent, it is also a hollow side, because the expansion agent will make the number of cells in strawberries increase rapidly.
However, the appropriate use of bulking agents in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables is actually legal. It may make the flavor of the fruit lighter, but it is not harmful, and it will make the fruit cheaper. So there is no need to be afraid of this[4].
Strawberries "oddly shaped" can not be eaten?
To talk about the shape, strawberries are sometimes really strange, such as some are particularly fat, some are particularly thin, some are like "chicken crowns", some are like "purses", and some of the tops are transparent, like prostheses filled in plastic surgery organs... It's no wonder people don't dare to eat it with confidence.
As for why a good strawberry grows like this, there are too many reasons behind it.
For example, the sun strikes, bees, flower flies, these "pollinators" strike, strawberry flowers pollination, fertilization is affected, will become deformed.
For example, there are too many pests, what gray mold, powdery mildew, verticillium wilt, strawberry photosynthesis is affected, will become deformed.
For example, the nutritional mix is unreasonable, too much nitrogen or boron deficiency, it will become deformed.
For example, Strawberry's parents, grandparents have deformed genes, and in its generation, it may become deformed.
Of course, improper use of pesticides, or the wrong time of use, can also deform strawberries.
In short, delicate as strawberries, there are many reasons for deformity, there are natural, there are artificial, and it cannot be said that all deformed strawberries are harmful and cannot be eaten.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
Strawberries fade as soon as they are washed, is it dyed?
As mentioned earlier, it is mainly anthocyanins that make strawberries red. Anthocyanins are water-soluble and usually stay in the tissue fluid of cells. When washing strawberries, external forces may destroy the delicate cells of strawberries, so that anthocyanins run out of the cells and become red in the water.
This is what strawberries normally look like, not dyed!
How to buy strawberries with confidence?
Listen to a lot of truth, what if you are still not at ease? In fact, it is very simple, go to a regular supermarket or e-commerce to buy, do not think that the roadside to buy fresher, do not covet cheap to buy low-priced strawberries. In short, you get what you pay for!
Review expert: Yun Wuxin | Well-known science expert, doctor of food engineering
bibliography
Song Jia. Different methods for the control of various types of malformed fruits in strawberries[J]. Rural Science Experiments, 2017, 4: 27.
Zhou Bo. Photoensitive environment affects the expression of genes related to the synthesis of anthocyanins in strawberries[D]. Northeast Forestry University, Dalian, 2004.
Shao Wanlu, Li Yueling,Gao Song. Effects of light intensity on fruit coloring and anthocyanin biosynthesis of ripe red strawberry and possible molecular mechanisms of plant research, 2018,38( 5): 661-668.
LIU Gang. The Ministry of Agriculture replied to the NPC deputies: the impact of bulking agents on the quality and safety of agricultural products is not large[N].Pesticide Market Information, 2014, 21.10.
ZHANG Huifang. Strawberry malformed fruit types, formation causes and integrated control[J]. Southeast Horticulture, 2016(5): 38-40.
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