Foods and home making

Water is a liquid ; sugar is a solid. Sugar How can you tell that the will dissolve in water. sugar is still in the water? If a solid substance such as sugar disappears when it is added to water, we say it dissolves in the water. Many kinds of solids will dissolve in water. When a solid dissolves in water, we call the mixture of the solid and water a water solution. A water solution is always clear. It is never cloudy in appearance, as is a mixture of flour and water. If the solid substance is dissolved it will not settle to the bottom of the vessel containing the solution. (See Figure 15.) The reason why fruit juices taste different from plain water is that there are substances dissolved in the water of the fruit. One The Treasures Found in Fruit 33 of the materials dissolved in the water of fruit juices is sugar. The natural sugar dissolved in fruit juices is not quite the same as granulated sugar, but the sugar in fruit has a sweet taste and many properties similar to those of granulated sugar. The kind of sugar found in fruit is sometimes called fruit sugar. Why do most fruits have a tart taste? Fruit juices not only are sweet, but also have a tart taste. It is perhaps this com- bination of sweet and sour that makes fruit juices so pleasant in flavor. The materials that give fruit juice its tart taste are known as acids. Some fruit juices, such as lemons, contain much acid. The acids of different fruit juices vary in kind. The fact that some fruit juices contain one kind of acid and some another accounts in part for the difference in flavor of different fruit juices. Figure 15. A, Starch and Water; B, Sugar and Water A spoonful of starch added to water will soon settle. Sugar added to water dis- The acids found in foods appears ; none settles in the bottom of the may help the body in di- glass, gesting foods. Do lemons and other fruits produce acids in the body? Since lemons and many other fruits have a sour taste due to acids, one might suppose that they would leave acids in the body. When fruits are digested and assimilated, the material left from them is not acid. It is basic or alkaline. In general, fruits do not produce acids in the body. Most fruits and also vegetables are base-forming foods. What other materials are found in fruits? You know that salt which we sprinkle on our foods comes from the earth. In the earth are many materials other than common salt which are 34 Breakfast like salt in some ways. Common salt and other materials somewhat like it are known as minerals or mineral matter. Just as sugar dissolves in water so do many of the minerals. We know that the roots of growing plants, shrubs, and trees must be covered with earth or soil. The plant roots draw moisture from the soil. In the soil- water, minerals are dissolved. The plant, then, gets from the soil not only water, but minerals, which are dissolved in soil-water. The minerals are distributed to all parts of the plant. If a plant such as an orange tree bears fruit, minerals are carried to the fruit. Minerals not only help make fruits taste good, but help make us healthy. Our bodies must have mineral matter. One of the best ways to supply our bodies with mineral matter is to eat fruits.