storage

WTF Fun Fact 13550 – Grocery Store Apples

It turns out the “fresh” apple you buy at the store might not be as fresh as you think – grocery store apples can be a year old, and you’d never know it.

How Apples Stay Fresh for Months

We often assume the fresh produce we buy from the grocery store was harvested just days or weeks prior to our purchase. However, someone might have picked your apple over a year ago.

So how do stores manage to provide these fresh-looking and crisp-tasting apples throughout the year?

Controlled Atmosphere Storage

Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage is an innovation that has revolutionized the way we store apples and other produce. By regulating the temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and humidity levels within storage units, apples’ ripening process slows significantly. The low temperature is particularly crucial, often set just above freezing. Additionally, reducing the oxygen levels from the 21% found in the air we breathe to a mere 1-2% and increasing carbon dioxide levels keeps the apples in a state of dormancy.

This storage method doesn’t just slow down the ripening process but can also help in preserving the apple’s flavor, color, texture, and vital nutrients. In essence, CA storage puts the apples to “sleep.” That way, we can store them for extended periods without significant deterioration.

The Journey of Grocery Stores Apples

Let’s follow the journey of an apple. It gets harvested during the apple-picking season, which typically runs from late summer to early fall. After a brief initial inspection and cleaning, instead of heading straight to the grocery shelves, many of these apples make their way into CA storage facilities. They might remain there for several months or even over a year, depending on the demand and variety of the apple.

When the market needs replenishment outside of the apple season, food purveyors get out their stored apples, wash them, and sometimes wax them to enhance their shine. After they undergo quality checks, companies pack and ship to grocery stores nationwide.

A common question arises: do these “aged” apples differ nutritionally from their fresher counterparts? The good news is that the CA storage process retains most of the apples’ nutrients. While there might be slight decreases in some vitamin levels, such as vitamin C, over extended periods, the overall nutritional profile remains largely intact.

Embracing the Benefits of Preserved Grocery Store Apples

Understanding the age of grocery store apples isn’t meant to deter individuals from purchasing them. In fact, CA storage has many benefits. It reduces food waste by allowing us to store apples longer, ensuring they don’t spoil before reaching consumers. It also ensures apples remain available year-round, not just during the harvest season.

However, for those who prioritize consuming fruits at their freshest, this information might influence purchasing decisions. Buying apples during their natural harvesting season or directly from local farmers’ markets can often guarantee a more recent harvest. Moreover, it’s always a good practice to ask store representatives about the sourcing and storage practices for their produce.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “That apple you just bought might be a year old – but does it matter?” — TODAY

WTF Fun Fact 12453 – Spontaneously Combusting Pistachios

Pistachios are delicious and nutritious but also a little bit dangerous at times.

Who knew?

So, first of all, pistachios are pretty hard to grow, which helps explain why they’re so expensive. The trees on which they grow are very temperamental, requiring long, hot, dry summers and no ground freezes. A pistachio tree also won’t produce the goods if it doesn’t have about 1000 total hours of dormancy at a temperature of about 45 degrees. Oh, and they hate humidity. So if you have a friend or officemate who can never get the temperature right, you kind of know what we mean here.

Pistachios were a Middle Eastern delicacy that once traveled along trade routes as Islam spread around Europe. (Fun fact: trade goods like spices and cloth weren’t the only things that traveled along trade routes – ideas and religion did too!)

After they made their way across the alps, they were known as the “Latin Penny Nut” and used for all sorts of Italian cooking. Then, after WWII, they became a snack food.

In the U.S., pistachios are domestically grown, and 99% come from California, representing a $1.6 billion boon to the economy. The rest are grown in Arizona and New Mexico.

Ok, but here’s the thing about pistachios – they need to be stored very carefully. Otherwise, they develop mold-related aflatoxins, which are toxic, carcinogenic, and deadly. And they can also explode.

You’re probably here to read about the exploding part, so let us set you at ease – this generally happens during shipping, so you don’t have to worry about losing an eye while having a healthy snack. You might have to worry, however, if you’re towing around a big heap of these things.

When pistachios are loaded up and transported, they need the right temperature and pressure at all times. Pistachios have a low water and high fat content. But when they’re kept in humid conditions, the water content can expand and can start a reaction in which fat-cleaving enzymes produce free fatty acids. You don’t need to understand the details of that, but what’s important is that those fatty acids get broken down when the nut takes in oxygen. The nut then spits out carbon dioxide, which creates heat. If you have a whole bunch of nuts stored, and they’re all giving out heat because it’s too humid, that heat will build up until…you guessed it – they all catch fire and explode.

So, yes, pistachios can spontaneously combust under the right circumstances. – WTF fun facts

Source: Do Pistachios Actually Combust? – Tasting Table