Effect of solutes and pH on the structure and firmness of cooked carrot

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Abstract
Summary. Xylary segments of carrot root were cooked in solutions of different hydrogenion concentration (pH 3‐8) and different solute composition. ‘Firmness’was measured as resistance of the cooked segments to compression, and histological sections were prepared. the segments were softer, the higher the pH of the solution. This softening was attended by increasing cellular separation and eventual cellular collapse at higher values of pH. Firmness increased (over that in water) in sucrose solutions and solutions with divalent cations, and it decreased in solutions with monovalent cations. Explanations are considered for these effects and for the relatively minor increase in firmness in solutions of A1Cl3.