EFFECT OF STORAGE ON COMPOSITION. 



29 



In general the changes in composition which occurred in the peaches 

 kept in the refrigerator were intermediate between those that took 

 place in common storage and in cold storage. This is true of the loss 

 of solids, the loss of marc, and the loss of sucrose. The result with the 

 reducing sugar is unexpected. In this determination an actual loss 

 occurred with the refrigerator peaches, while a gain was found both 

 with those preserved in cold storage and those in common storage. 

 As a result of this the loss of total sugars was much greater in the 

 refrigerator than in either of the other forms of storage. The loss of 

 acid also was greater in the refrigerator than in either of the other 

 forms of storage. 



TABLE XI. Comparison of average daily changes in peaches stored under various 



conditions. 



[Percentage based on total solids of original sample.] 



In the discussion of the storage of peaches up to this point we have 

 considered only peaches taken at the period of market ripeness. In 

 addition to this, peaches were taken for the study of the effect of 

 storage on their composition at earlier dates in their development. In 

 Table XII are given the results of the analysis of very green peaches 

 stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of from 12 to 15 C. 

 (53.6 to 59 F.). These peaches were picked and the experiment 

 begun just after the June drop. It is noticeable that the percentage 

 of solids and of sucrose increased during this period (with the one 

 exception of sucrose in the case of the Switzerland variety), while the 

 percentage of reducing sugar decreased. The increase of solids of 

 course can be explained by evaporation, and the decrease of reducing 

 sugar may be due to the loss of that substance owing to its consump- 

 tion in connection with the respiration of the fruit. The peaches were 

 not weighed at the end of the period of storage, and for that reason 

 these results can not be given in the terms of weight per peach. 



