Is Your Fruit Wrinkled ? (; By Anita Marquez Mr. Leingang; period# 6 th

Question; How does the type of fruit, apples or bananas, affect how many grams it weighs after you dehydrate it?

Hypothesis; As you dehydrate a variety of fruit, then the apple`s mass would decrease most, because it has more fluids than the banana does.

Variables; Timer. 3 apples. 3 bananas. Oven. Oven mitt. Scale for units oz. or less. Knife. Cookie sheet.

Data Table; Banana# g35.4 g Banana# g37.5 g Banana# g35. 3g Average.

Apple#1 Apple#2 Apple#3 Average.

Procedure; #1. set up diagram. #2. This investigation takes time, get a timer, and be ready to use your oven. [or dehydrator] #3. Take the knife and chop the fruit, in about 24 thin slices [for bananas] and 12 slices. [for apples taking out the core.] #4. Bring out the scale, and measure the grams of each fruit separate from the groups. This way, you should be measuring 24 slices for each banana and 12 slices for each apple. #5. After you received their mass before you dehydrated them, put the first trial banana slices and apples onto a cookie sheet, and set the oven for 150 degrees. #6. Now once the oven is preheated, put the cookie sheet into the oven, and let the first trial stay in there for 5 hours, or until the fruit is fully dehydrated. #7. After approx. 5 hours, place your oven mitt on and carefully take out the dehydrated fruit. Let them sit for a while before measuring their mass. #8. After you measured how many grams trial one weighed [the banana and apple separate], record measurements down as trial one for the banana and apple. #9. Repeat steps 2-8 for trials 2 and 3.

Diagram;

Background information; Dehydrated fruit`s origin was located in thailand. Dehydration is one of the oldest methods of food preservation known to man. Primitive civilizations throughout the world first dehydrated grasses, berries, roots, meat and fish by putting them in the sun to dry. Dehydration allowed man to exist through long periods of drought or freezing winters when food was scarce. The high nutritional value and light weight of dehydrated food allowed early peoples to travel and explore, hunting additional food sources. The process of turning fresh fruit into the finished, dehydrated product is interesting. First, the fresh, ripe fruit is hand sorted. It's important to get the apples at just the correct ripeness. They must be firm enough to peel and cut without crumbling. Special equipment is used to reduce any bruising during movement and processing of the apples. Before processing, the apples are thoroughly washed and rinsed. From the wash they go to the automatic peelers and coring machines. They are then cut into the different sizes for either the apple slices or apple flakes. The cut apples are now coated with 900 to 1,500 parts per million (ppm) sulfur dioxide or sodium sulfite, anti-browning agents. Then it's off to the fruit dryers. The first drier is a 350 foot long gas fired drier. The apples take 45 minutes to pass through this 158 degree F (70 degree C) drier. After passing through this drier the moisture content has dropped to 24%. Now, the apple pieces travel for 45 minutes through a second drier where the moisture is further reduced to 3%. Finally, to finish the processing, strawberry or peach juices and other flavorings are added. Processed at relatively low temperatures, the nutritional value in the fruit remains relatively intact.

Dehydrated.Normal.Dehydrated.Normal.