Thanks to the invention of pesticides and other chemicals which allows vegetable and fruits to grow bigger and without being destroyed by pests, we now are able to produce enough food to feed our growing population, despite the huge food waste. However, in the process, vegetables like store tomatoes have lost their highly-appreciated taste.
Researchers from the University of Florida have revealed in a new study published in the journal Science on Thursday, that they have discovered what exactly determines the taste of the tomatoes and how they can change it for the better. The study reveals that the scientists compared the genetic makeup as well as the flavor profile of store tomatoes with those of ancestral and heirloom varieties. Thus, they were able to identify which specific chemical compounds makes the tomatoes more delicious.
Knowing what determines the taste of tomatoes is only half the battle in restoring the flavor of all store vegetables. Researchers are now hard at work to restore the original flavors in store tomatoes by crossbreeding them with varieties of the heirloom fruit. However, the researchers emphasized that the constant need for large and sturdy vegetables and fruits means that their original taste cannot be fully restored. Nonetheless, store tomatoes might see a drastic improvement in taste in the coming years.
The focus on bigger and more sturdy vegetables and fruits only started after World War II, as ravaged countries needed to feed their people and farmers had better profits with larger products as they were paid by the pound. The trade-off in taste wasn’t really noticed at first, but now it is quite apparent.
For their study, the researchers sequenced the genome of over 400 tomato varieties and even performed taste tests on 101 types of the fruit, while recording which ones were the most appreciated by a group of people. They concluded that the taste in the preferred tomatoes was determined by 25 chemical compounds known as volatiles.
The researchers discovered that in store tomatoes, 13 of those compounds were drastically reduced. They hope to restore the taste of the tomatoes without compromising their size. However, a better taste may inevitably lead to a shorter shelf life and thus, to an increase in price.
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