MAKTAB RENDAH SAINS MARA SERTING

The use of hypertonic solution in making fruit pickles

NAME: MUHAMMAD DANISH DANIAL BIN AHMAD JAILANI

CLASS: 4 AT – TABARI
MATRIX NUMBER: NT190163
TEACHER’S NAME: PUAN NORITA
 Contents Page

1.0 Acknowledgment 1

2.0 Importance of Project 2

2.1 Objective 2

2.2 Method 2

2.3 Conclusion 2

3.0 Material and Apparatus 3-4

4.0 Methodology 5-10

5.0 Result and interpretation of data 11-12

6.0 Discussion 13-14

7.0 Bibliography 15
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Firstly, I would like to give a big thanks to my parents for providing everything, such as
money to buy anything that are related to this project work also their advice and support.
Then, I want to thank my teacher Puan Norita for teaching me Biology Form 4 and guiding
me throughout this project. Last but not least, my friends who were helping me doing this
project and sharing our ideas and knowledge. We are helping each other so we can
complete our project without any problem.

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 INTRODUCTION

2.0 Importance of Project

Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either
anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically
affects the food's texture, taste and flavor .The resulting food is called a pickle, or, to
prevent ambiguity, prefaced with pickled .The importance is to study how pickles are
being preserved and the process of making pickles so that it can last longer.

2.1 Objective
To understand and appreciate the importance of substances movement across the
plasma membrane in daily life.

2.2 Method
Using a jar, put the brine with the fruit / vegetables and leave it for overnight.

2.3 Conclusion
Pickles will be made based of the concentration of the salt and sugar of the brine, the
taste of the pickles will be based of preference of the people where some people like it
very sour but some don’t. The main thing is the process involved is movement of
substances across the plasma membrane.

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 MATERIAL AND APPARATUS

1) JAR

2) SALT AND SUGAR

3) WATER AND VINEGAR

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4) FRUIT / VEGETABLES

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 METHODOLOGY

PROCEDURES

- Prepare all the ingredients

- Put in not ripe mango in with sugar (I use brown sugar)

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- Then, a bit of salt (half a teaspoon)

- Mix until evenly distributed

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- Make a vinegar, water and sugar mixture

- (OPTIONAL) Food coloring to make the pickle more vibrant

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- Put the mango in the jar

- Pour in the vinegar, sugar and water mixture

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- Close with lid and store in fridge for 3-4 days and it’s ready to eat!!

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 PRECAUTION

- Do not use too much salt

- Use fresh vegetables or fruits
- The more the vinegar, the longer the pickle will last
- Do not use lime as a substitute of vinegar because it will not be like a pickle

BUDGET

Item Quantity Price

Sugar 1pack (1kg/pack) RM2.85
Salt 1pack (450g/pack) RM1.30
Vinegar 1bottle (500ml/bottle) RM9.90
Mango 1kg RM11.90
Jar 1 unit RM2.10
TOTAL RM28.05

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 RESULT

After a day or two of fermentation, little bubbles of carbon dioxide form in the liquid
surrounding the cucumbers. This lets we know the good bacteria is doing its job and the
brine is acidifying. That will prove that there is a reaction has been occurred between the
mangoes and the solution. Fermentation begins as soon as a brine is formed. It can be
seen by bubbles of carbon dioxide gas that are given off by the bacteria. It is completed
when no more bubbles appear. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

From my observation after 48 hours, the water content of the solution increased. This
means that the mango has undergone the plasmolysis process. This is because salt is
hypertonic towards the mango cells and will cause the mango to undergo plasmolysis
where water will diffuse out of the vacuoles by osmosis. Osmosis occurs because the
mixture of the solution has higher concentration than the water inside the mango slices.
Curing involves changes in color, flavor and texture of the product.

From my observation, the mango slices changes its colors from bright green to yellow
green, the taste is more sour and salty, and the texture become soft with a sharp-sour
smell. The picture above shows the final result of the pickling process. The pickled mango
slices taste is sour-sweet and it turns out to be crunchy. They are ready to be eaten.

You should leave your pickle jars covered with a clean towel to allow the buildup of gas
to escape. If you want really sour pickles, you should allow the fermentation process to
go on for about two weeks. Other fermented vegetables, such as turning cabbage into
sauerkraut, can take as long as a month to achieve the desired results.

When your pickles are properly fermented, you can store the pickle jars in the refrigerator
to slow down the fermentation process and keep your pickles from spoiling. The most
important thing about vinegar is its five percent acidity, which causes changes in flavor
and texture and acts as a preservative. In terms of which vinegar to use, it depends on the
desired taste and color of your pickles. Distilled white vinegar and white wine vinegar are
most popular because they won't affect the color of most vegetables (red onions,
however, will turn bright pink when exposed to white vinegar). The other common option
is cider vinegar, which offers a milder flavor, but causes the produce to darken.

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From this experiment, I got to witness the effect of hypertonic solution towards the
mango and also the osmosis process where water diffuses out of the vacuole of the
mango. This project helped me understand and appreciate the importance of the
movement of substance across the plasma membrane in daily life. This activity definitely
made my days at home more interesting as I get to conduct hands-on activities and not
only study the theory of it which makes the learning process boring. In conclusion, doing
this project was really fun and it can be done with simple household items. Besides that,
this pickling method can also help reduce the problem of wastage due to over harvesting.
Doing this project not only made myself another homemade snack but also increased my
knowledge on food preserving

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 DISCUSSION

Osmosis is water version of diffusion where water or any solvents go through the semi
permeable membrane of the cell, which is the one that closet the path and prevent
substances such as solutes, from dissolving. Most osmosis do not move through the
concentration gradient because the water moves from low areas concentration of solutes
to high concentration of solutes, so mostly the water moves up from the concentration
gradient.

Pickling is the process of preserving edible products in an acid solution, usually vinegar,
or in salt solution (brine). In the latter case, the acid that does the preservative action
(lactic acid mainly) is produced by fermentation. The process of pickling is also known as
brining and the resulting foods as pickles. However, in the United States and Canada, the
word ‘pickles,’ unless otherwise specified, generally means cucumber pickles. Usually,
pickles refer to vegetable products, but sometimes, fish, eggs, or meat is also subjected
to pickling. The process applied to meats is usually called curing. The focus in this article
will be on pickled vegetables

Pickling imparts unique characteristics to fruits and vegetables. Desirable changes in

flavor, texture, and color take place in fermented, pasteurized, and refrigerated pickles,
and are carefully monitored. However, some of the same bacteria involved in normal
fermentation, such as the lactic acid-formers, may cause spoilage if not destroyed

They are not a good source of protein or fat, but are a fairly rich source of vitamin A,
vitamin C and phosphorus. Salt and sugar additions to the brine will affect the sodium and
carbohydrate contents.

The reason why I chose unripe mangoes is because ripe mangoes are soft and full of water.
This may cause the mango unable to be pickled as there is too much water content. A
liquid full of salt or sugar is called a hypertonic solution. The mango slices are placed in
the hypertonic solution. There's way more solute in the solution than the inside of the
cells of the mango slices, this will cause a difference in water potential between the
solution and the inside of the cells of the mango slices

As we learned before, water will move from an area of high water potential to an area of
low water potential. So, water will move out of the cells of the mango slices causing them
to lose water molecules via osmosis.

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 Some questions about this task

1. State the process that takes place for pickling food / fruit / vegetable.
The process that takes place for pickling food / fruit / vegetable is osmosis.

2. Explain the process mentioned in Question 1.

Osmosis is a process where the diffusion of water molecules from a region of higher
water potential (dilute solution) to a region of lower water potential (concentrated
solution), through a partially permeable plasma membrane.

3. What is the function of salt and sugar in the pickling process?

The function of salt and sugar in the pickling process is to reduce the water content
so that the bacteria cannot multiply and hence salt acts as a preservative.

4. Apart from salt and sugar, name another ingredient used for the pickling process
and explain why the ingredient is used?
Vinegar. Vinegar is used in pickling to provide tangy and sour taste to the desired
stuff. It is acidic in nature, so it prevents several microorganisms from growing and
its pH maintains the temperature needed, as well as stingy taste in pickles.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Form 4 KSSM Biology Text Book

https://anyflip.com/umrni/mdfa

- Osmosis (n.d.) 10upon10. https://10upon10.com/class12/12phychem/ chemistry-

solutions-12.html

- Chen P. W. (n.d.) The Science of Pickling. Petrosains. https://petrosains.com.my/

wonderblog/the-science-of-pickling/

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