IONIC REACTIONS

2103127

DATE:
REACTIONS
13/10/2021

PRANAV
VARMA

INSTRUCTOR
IONIC RISHIKESH
NARAYAN

EXPERIMENT
NO 2
Aim of the Experiment
To investigate the effect of the pH of cooking
medium on the color and texture of the cooked
vegetables.

Theory
In reference to fruits and vegetables, the
characteristics that impart distinctive quality can be
described by two different attributes —1) colour and
appearance and 2) texture.
Colour is drawn from the natural pigments in fruits
and vegetables, many of which change as the plant
proceeds through maturation and ripening. The
primary pigments imparting colour quality are the fat
soluble chlorophylls (green) and carotenoids (yellow,
orange, and red) and the water soluble anthocyanins
(red, blue), flavonoids (yellow), and betalains (red). In
addition, enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning
reactions results in the formation of water-soluble
brown, grey, and black coloured pigments.

Chlorophyll molecules are magnesium-tetrapyrrole

pigments that give plants, algae, and cyanobacteria
their characteristic green colour, and are the primary
pigments used in plant photosynthesis.

The structure of chlorophyll

Food texture is a physical property of foods arising

from the structural constituents and is evaluated by
touch.
Texture, and the related mouthfeel of a product,
plays an essential role in how consumers evaluate a
product. In some cases, these characteristics are
even more important than those of taste,
appearance, or smell.
Texture refers to how the physical attributes of a
food texture are processed by the brain during
mastication. Characteristics like hard, soft, crispy,
crunchy, are used by consumers to describe food
texture.
Requirements
 Green peas
 Water
 Table salt
 Baking soda
 Vinegar

Procedure
 Take three containers of green peas
 In the first container add some water and then add
half tablespoon of table salt
 Keep it in the boiling flame
 Wait for 15 minutes
 Drain the water from the container and observe
the changes

 In the second container add some water and then

add half tablespoon of baking soda
 Keep it in the boiling flame
 Wait for 15 minutes
 Drain the water from the container and observe
the changes

 In the third container add some water and then

add vinegar
 Keep it in the boiling flame
 Wait for 15 minutes
 Drain the water from the container and observe
the changes

Observations
Basic medium Neutral medium Acidic medium
While the green peas were boiled in basic medium
the green colour was retained and it becomes a
different compound, known as chlorophyllin, which is
water soluble and gives food a bright green colour.
The neutral medium had no effect on the colour and
texture of the green peas and was insoluble in the
medium.
The main cause of green peas discolouration during
heating is the conversion of chlorophylls to
pheophytins by the influence of pH. The green colour
of peas turns to yellow when heated and placed in
acidic conditions
During this reaction, hydrogen ions in the acidic
medium can transform the chlorophylls to their
corresponding pheophytins by substitution of the
magnesium ion in the porphyrin ring.
The new compound formed is not chlorophyll but
pheophytin

The reaction during boiling in acidic medium of any

substance that contains chlorophyll.

Results
 The colour of the peas in basic medium was bright
green and was soft in texture.
 The colour of the peas in neutral medium was
green and moderately hard in texture.
 The colour of the peas in acidic medium was yellow
and was very hard in texture.
 Like all materials, the colour of pigments arises
because they absorb only certain wavelengths
of visible light
The reflected light spectrum defines the colour that
we observe.
The appearance of pigments is sensitive to the
source light.
 Chlorophyll role is to absorb light from sunlight in
plants. The energy absorbed from light is utilized to
convert carbon dioxide and water molecules into
glucose, through photosynthesis.
Chlorophyll being a primary pigment (photoreceptor)
reflects green light, absorbing red and blue light in
the chloroplast.
Thus, overall photosynthesis process depends on the
chlorophyll.
 The pigments contain powerful antioxidant
properties that can have a profound effect on total
health.
Many fruits and vegetables are suitable for dogs to
eat, and contain compounds that can help to
provide protection against many of the ailments
and diseases to which domestic dogs are prone
Pigments have been shown to aid in protecting
plant from environmental challenges. They help to
protect plants from disease, insects, drought,
excessive heat, ultraviolet rays, and poisons or
pollutants in the air and soil. They form part of a
plant’s ‘immune system’.
 The other factors that affect the colour of pigments
other than pH is sunlight, temperature.