Osmosis in the dehydration of apples

Inquiry question: How is osmosis used in the food industry to preserve

fruit using sucrose?

Background research:
Osmosis is the spontaneous movement or diffusion of water or other solvents
through a semi-permeable membrane from a high concentration to a low
concentration. The general term osmose (now osmosis) was introduced in
1854 by a British chemist, Thomas Graham. The osmosis process was first
thoroughly studied in 1877 by German plant physiologist William Pfeffer.

Osmosis has been used passively for centuries in food processing to either
dehydrate food or rehydrate dried food. For example; lettuce soaking up the
water mist in a grocery store or supermarkets such as Woolies or Coles keeps
it fresh due to osmotic hydration. The forward osmosis membrane, draw
solution, and operational parameters are specially designed to maximise
water transport while simultaneously minimizing its use of energy and the
loss of other soluble contents, such as nutrients and aromas.

Fruits are preserved to be sold on the market through the use of sugar syrup.
Common methods of applying these processes include; drying, spray-drying,
freezing, canning, etc. Sugar is used to preserve fruits in syrup with fruits
such as apples, pears, peaches, plums and apricots. Another way of using
sugar to preserve fruits is through crystallising the fruits where the fruit is
cooked to a crystallized state and is then stored dry.
Food chosen for the experiment:
The food chosen for this experiment was apples, as they have to be preserved
to use in jams and can be dried to then be eaten as a snack like Mangoes. The
jams in which apples are preserved are then used to make different types of
pies for people to eat, which is why they were the decided fruit to be used in
this experiment.

Hypothesis:
I presume that the size of the apple rectangles will decrease and the mass will
decrease after being in the solutions overnight.

Materials:
- Apple (brought from home)
- Boiling test tubes x8
- 15ml 10% sucrose solution (x2)
- 15ml 20% sucrose solution (x2)
- 15ml 50% sucrose solution (x2)
- 15ml water (x2)
- Electronic Scale
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Ruler
- Test tube rack
- Paper Towel
Method:
1. Slice the apple into 1cm by 3cm (rectangle), with the help of the ruler
for sizing, using the knife on the cutting board
2. Fill the first test tube with the 15ml of 10% sucrose solution and place
it in the test tube rack
3. Repeat step 2 for the other three test tubes
4. Weigh the apple rectangles on the scale and record the weight of each
apple rectangle in the results table
5. Measure the size of each apple rectangle using the ruler and record the
sizes of each apple rectangle in the results table
6. Placing the apple rectangles into the test tubes, making sure the
solution covers them
7. Leave the apple inside the test tubes overnight
8. Take the apples out of the test tubes the next day and dry them off
using a paper towel
9. Weigh the apple rectangles on the scale one at a time
10. Write the weights of the apple rectangles in the results table and
compare the mass of the apple rectangles to what they were the day
before
11. Measure the size of the apple rectangles using the ruler again and
record them in the results table
12. Compare the sizes of the apple rectangles to the sizes of the day
before using the results table
Variables:
- Independent Variable:
- Concentration
- Dependent Variable:
- Mass
- Size
- Control:
- The same fruit
- The same amount of solution
- Left for the same amount of time

Risk assessment:
Risk involved How to minimize the risk

1 Glass test tubes dropped and Be careful with the test tubes and the
shattered, causing the glass to be on solutions, placing the test tubes in
the floor along with solutions the rack when they are not being
risking students slipping. used.

2 Slipping on spilt solutions/water Clean up the spill as soon as whatever

resulted in an injury and whatever is being held has been placed down
was being held ruined. on the lab bench.

3 Students cutting themselves on Have a teacher clean up the glass

glass from a broken test tube if they from the broken test tube and have
pick it up to throw it away and students use some sort of protective
prevent others from being harmed. layer to pick up the glass.
Results:
Mass (g):
Conc 1 2 Average

Before After Before After Before After

0 3.18g 2.13g 3.18g 2.25g 3.18g 2.19g

10 3.19g 2.61g 3.16g 2.00g 3.18g 2.31g

20 3.17g 2.30g 3.19g 2.70g 3.18g 2.50g

50 3.19g 1.43g 3.17g 1.31g 3.18g 1.37g

Size (cm):
Conc 1 2 Average

Before After Before After Before After

0 3x1 3.1x1 3x1 3.5x1 3x1 3.3x1

10 3x1 3.4x1.1 3x1 3x0.7 3x1 3.2x0.9

20 3x1 2.6x0.8 3x1 2.8x0.9 3x1 2.7x0.9

50 3x1 2.9x0.7 3x1 2.9x0.9 3x1 2.9x0.8

Discussion:
The results obtained in the experiment show that depending on the solution
used, the apple rectangles will either shrink or grow. As seen in the control,
the mass and size of the apple grew from being left overnight, while on the
other end of the spectrum, the apple left in the 50% sucrose solution shrank
from being left overnight.

This experiment helps to demonstrate how food is preserved in the food

industry for people to use in jams and pies as it allowed us to see how the
food is preserved along with what the apples grow or shrink to look like in
different concentrations of the sucrose solution.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the hypothesis I came up with reflected the results positively,
as the apple in the 50% sucrose solution shrank in size and mass. This proves
that the higher the concentration of the solution is, the more likely the fruit
is to shrink in the solution when left for long periods of time.
Bibliography:
Britannica. (2019). Osmosis. In Encyclopædia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/science/osmosis

McHugh, T., Bakajin, O., & Klare, J. (2017, March 1). Advantages and Applications of Forward

Osmosis. Www.ift.org.

https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2017/march/

columns/processing-forward-osmosis-and-applications-in-industry

Yadav, A. K., & Singh, S. V. (2012). Osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables: a review.

Journal of Food Science and Technology, 51(9), 1654–1673.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-012-0659-2

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