TOMATOES

Unripe tomatoes are green due to the chlorophyll pigment, but as they ripen, they go red due to a hydrocarbon pigment called lycopene. This structure is shown in the stem, which is the key to ripe for this fruit. Lycopene absorbs the blue-green part of the electromagnetic spectrum and that leads to tomatoes being red-orange. This is shown by the shadows being blue-green; usually one doesn't pay much attention to our shadows, just as I feel we might overlook what it means for an object to be a certain colour. When the tomato tissue is disrupted by ripening (e.g. by biting it or by predator attacks), an enzyme-catalysed reaction starts, where C6 aldehydes are formed. These undergo more reactions, leading to the formation of esters (=flavour!). This, along with other 20 molecules, contributes to the flavour of tomatoes. Some molecules might be present in small amounts, but they are very influential because of their great odour impact. As you can see, inside the cut-up tomato are some examples of these molecules.