1884.] Relation of Color to Flavor in Fruits and Vegetables. 1203 



THE RELATION OF COI^OR TO FLAVOR IN FRUITS 

 AND VEGETABLES."' " '" 



BY EMMETT S. GOFF. 



I "TvURING the summer of 1 882 I was struck by the coincidence 

 ^■L' that in several of our fruits and vegetables a white or light 

 colored flesh is accompanied by a milder and more delicate flavor 

 than exists in other varieties of the same fruit or vegetables hav- 

 ing a dark colored flesh. Thus the yi^hite varieties of onion are 

 milder in flavor than the red ones ; the white currants posse.ss 

 less acidity than the red ones, and these in turn have less piin- 

 ^ency than the black varieties ; the white and yellow tomatoes 

 are sweeter than the red ones; the white and yellow raspberries- 

 ar&-more delicate in flavor than the red ones, and these in turn 

 have a less strongly marked flavor than the black varieties. The 

 familiar custom of blanching celery, endive, sea-kale, the cos 

 lettuce and other plants to give them a more delicate flavor, was 

 called to mind, and the fact that the inner leaves of the cabbage 

 head which are white and decidedly more delicate in flavor than 

 the outer green leaves ; also that potato tubers '• sun burned " 

 through exposure to the light have a very strong and bitter taste. 

 These and other instances came to mind, until I was led to ask 

 whether there may not be a law of relation between the color 

 and flavor in fruits and vegetables. 



Every fruit and vegetable has a standard of quality peculiar to 

 itself. This is based upon the natural qualities that make the 

 fruit or vegetable desirable to man. ^Thus in most fruits quality 

 is based upon delicacy and richness of flavor, with a certain de- 

 gree of tenderness in the flesh. In many salads it is based upon 

 crispness, tenderness and mildness in flavor; in a few, as the 

 cress, it is based upon pungency. In some vegetables, as the 

 potato and squash, quality depends upon the dryness and fari- 

 naceous properties of the flesh, combined with a delicate, charac- 

 teristic flavor. 



In the amelioration of fruits and vegetables, it is the constant 

 aim of the horticulturist to intensify, so far as possible, the desi- 

 rable qualities and to eliminate the undesirable ones. It is evi- 

 dent, therefore, that if it can be shown that the color of the flesh 

 has a direct relation to its flavor and tenderness, we have a valu- 

 able index in the work of selection. If by whitening the flesh 



VOL. XVIII.— NO, XII. 76 ^ 



