Nasty bananas

Question 1.
Why does fruit rot?

Most fruits and vegetables go bad because they get damaged by micro-organisms like bacteria and mold, or enzymatic processes ( the chemicals in the fruit breaking down) or bruising. Microorganisms speed produce deterioration through structural decay. Bleh.

Question 2.
We went to the museum of natural history today and learned about bacteria. Which bacteria causes fruit to rot?

 There are lots of different kinds of rotting, but for soft rotting, Erwinia, Pectobacterium, and Pseudomonas are the bacteria. Pics:

Erwinia:

Pseudomonas:

Pectobacterium:

Question 3.
What can slow down the process of rotting?

1. Fridges and freezers work well because keeping things cold slows down a lot of bugs and a lot of reactions, but eventually things will still go moldy.
2. Keeping air out will work temporarily too. You can seal stuff in containers and jars to keep air out.
3. You can also stop bugs or at least slow them down by drying your fruit.
4. Sugar can be used to preserve sweet things too by helping to dry them out. Sugar sucks in any water around and stops it getting to the food.  You can even put a sugar cube in a container with your cheese to stop it going moldy.

Question 4.
What can speed up the process of rotting?

You can leave it on a counter, and taking off any skin or peeling it will speed it up. And having it moist in a hot room will help too.

Question 5.
Is rotting always a bad thing?

No, the decomposition of a food can be a good thing cause it will eventually turn into soil and feed plants.

please check out this video:

link