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Flavor - The consumer evaluates tomatoes on 4 general factors, appearance, firmness, internal appearance, and flavor will the professional chef concerns herself or himself more with the two primary factors determining a tomato's flavor are the sugar and acid content. If the ratio (percent of sugar divided by the percent of acid) of sugar to acid is too low the fruit will have a sour or insipid. Conversely if the sugar ratio is too high the fruit would have an unnaturally sweet flavor. The locular jelly is the most acid portion of the fruit and contains the lowest sugar content. There for it can be expected that the greater the percentage of locular jelly in the fruit the lower the sugar/acid ratio will be. The acid content of the fruit increases until the mature-green stage is reached and then decreases until the fruits are fully ripened. There is a rapid rise in the sugar/acid ratio from the mature-green fruit to the ripened fruit. |