On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 480

Oncemaleandfemalecellshavecome
togetheranddevelopedintooffspring,they
mustbegivenagoodstart.Theanimalmother
cansearchoutapromisinglocationand
depositheryoungthere.Butplantsneedhelp.
Iftheseedssimplydroppedfromtheplantto
theground,theywouldhavetocompetewith
eachotherandwiththeirovershadowing
parentforsunlightandsoilminerals.So
successfulplantfamilieshavedeveloped
mechanismsfordispersingtheirseedsfarand
wide.Thesemechanismsincludeseed
containersthatpopopenandpropeltheir
contentsinalldirections,seedappendages
thatcatchthewindorthefurofapassing
animal—andstructuresthathitcharide
insidepassersby.Fruitsareplantorgansthat
actuallyinviteanimalstoeatthem,sothatthe
animalswillcarrytheirseedsaway,andoften
passthemthroughtheirdigestivesystemand
deposittheminanourishingpileofmanure.
(Theseedsescapedestructioninvariousways,


amongthembybeinglargeandarmored,or
tinyandeasilyspilled,orpoisonous.)
So,unliketherestoftheplant,fruitis
meanttobeeaten.Thisiswhyitstaste,odor,
andtexturearesoappealingtoouranimal
senses.Buttheinvitationtoeatmustbe
delayeduntiltheseedsarematureandviable.

Thisisthepurposeofthechangesincolor,
texture,andflavorthatwecallripening.
Leaves,roots,stalkscanbeeatenatanytime,
generallytheearlierthetenderer.Butwemust
waitforfruittosignalthatitisreadytobe
eaten.Thedetailsofripeningaredescribedin
chapter7(p.350).
OurEvolutionaryPartnersLikeus,mostof
ourfoodplantsarerelativenewcomerstothe
earth.Lifearoseabout4billionyearsago,but
flowering plants have been around for only
about200millionyears,anddominantforthe
last 50 million. An even more recent
developmentisthe“herbaceous”habitoflife.