Enzymes Behind the Scenes: Making Food Tasty, Fresh, or Spoiled

When we are eating a plate of juicy mangoes during summer, or have smelt that fresh loaf of bread in the bakery, we are seldom thinking of those little helpers at work in our food. These helpers are enzymes. Not to be seen with the naked eye, they nonetheless silently dictate taste, the duration of food preservation, and even when food begins to go bad. 

In this paper we shall consider what enzymes actually are, what their effect is on our daily food, and why they are our friends and at times our enemies. I will do it plain--no serious science vocabulary. You can always think of it as a friendly conversation with the secret workers of your kitchen table. 

 What Exactly Are Enzymes?

Imagine a group of workers in a factory. Every employee has special occupation--some cut, some join, some clean up. Enzymes are such employees, it is within our food. They are protein compounds of nature which accelerate little reactions, including sugar breakdown, softening fruit, or flavor formation. 

To illustrate, when you put a banana in the counter, it gradually becomes green then yellow and then brown.  

That is what enzymes do, and  transform the fruit step by step.

Enzyme and the Flavors We Love.

Without enzymes many of the tastes that we like would be missing. 

Fruits: Have you ever seen how raw papaya does not taste sweet, but the ripe papaya melts in your mouth? The starch is broken down to sugar by the enzymes contained within the fruit to produce that sweetness. 

Cheese and curd: In Indian kitchens, curd is included in day to day meals. The reason why it has a tangy flavor is that through the enzyme, lactic acid is converted out of milk. On the same note, the production of cheese requires the enzyme. 

Tea and coffee: What is the robust smell of your morning chai or coffee? Once again, enzymes are used to liberate those complex flavors in fermentation and roasting.

Then next time you drink your tea or taste a mango, you can keep in mind the enzymes that are performing their task quietly.

 How Enzymes Keep Food Fresh

We all care about freshness. Nobody prefers stale bread and wilted vegetables. Enzymes may also assist in keeping fresh.

Food tenderization: In Indian cuisine, papaya is commonly used to tenderize meat. This is due to the fact that papaya fruit has an enzyme named papain which is naturally used to break down proteins therefore making the meal softer and tastier.

Juice clarity: You drink a clear glass of apple juice and should know that the hazy appearance has been removed by the activity of enzymes. Your juice would be thick and murky without enzymes.

Baking bread: Bakers prefer enzymes as they make bread rise, remain soft and acquire a pleasant taste. 

To put it in plain terms, enzymes are food stylists of nature--they make things attractive and taste good.

 However Enzymes Can Spoil Food too.

 

The twist here is that, these very enzymes that render food tasty and fresh, also lead to food spoilage.

Fruit browning: Take an apple and keep it on the table. It becomes brown in several minutes. That is the action of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase. 

Over-ripe fruits: Enzymes do not know when to quit. Fruits continue to decompose and hence bananas may transform into black and mushy within a short span.

Milk Curdling: A typical example of enzyme spoilage is the curdling of milk. Under hot weather, microorganisms have a fast rate of multiplication in milk and they produce enzymes that change lactose to lactic acid. The rising acidity prompts the milk proteins (casein) to coagulate, therefore, resulting in souring and curdling.  

Gone bad fermented foods: Fermented foods may sometimes over ferment and become sour-smelling and go sour. This is due to the fact that enzymes continue its activity after the correct stage.

Pickles softening: In most Indian households, pickles stored improperly cause the enzymes to decompose the vegetables contained in them, rendering it soft. 

Vegetables going slimy: Have you ever opened your fridge to find beans or spinach have gone soft and slimy? Enzymes destroy their natural structure and microbes make use of the opportunity, and thus they become inedible.

Stale bread: Bread that is hard and dry with time also involves the activity of enzymes. Although it may not necessarily leave you sick, it surely leaves the eating experience bad.

Oil off-flavors: Even cooking oils go sour to enzymes which break down fats and give off a bad smell and taste. This has been referred to as rancidity. 

This is the reason why storage is very important. Refrigeration, drying or cooking is used to reduce the activity of enzymes to make food last longer. 

Personal Memory: Mango Season at Home.

I grew up in India and summer was mango time. My grandmother would never allow us to leave a lot of ripe mangoes heaped up in the basket. They will spoil each other she would say. I did not understand why at that time. I later on heard that it was a combination of enzymes and natural ripening gases that interacted to soften and mush the entire basket.

That is the influence of enzymes--a single ripe fruit may soon spoil a great many others that are in its vicinity. 

Managing Food Enzymes

The good news is, we don't have to battle any enzymes. We simply have to manage them.

Refrigeration: Cold should slow down enzyme reactions which is why your vegetables last longer in the fridge! 

Cooking: Heat destroys enzymes, so cooking not only makes food safe, but it also prevents spoilage from non-pathogenic microorganisms. 

Lemon juice on fruits: Simply squeezing lemon juice on half of an apple or banana will slow down oxidation. Interestingly, this happens because the acid (lemon juice) inhibits the enzyme reaction. 

Proper storage: Storing grains, pulses and dry products in airtight containers limits both moisture and reaction from enzymes. 

Together, these tiny steps will maximize your money, limit food waste and help keep your meals enjoyable!

Why This Matters

Enzymes are not science talk only. They are included in our daily lives. They determine what happens to our food: a treat or a dustbin. Understanding them helps us:

Be grateful to food natural processes.

Keep food in better condition and put less in trash.

Savor the flavors the way it should be.

And, honestly, it is a bit entertaining to realize that there are invisible labourers in our kitchens! 

Final Thoughts

Enzymes are the real heroes--and villains--of our food, indeed they are. They are sweet to fruits, soft to bread, tangy to curd. But they brown apples too and sour milk and over-ripe bananas. It is all about getting in balance just like in life. 

The next time you have a meal, you should remember these unseen assistants. And in case you liked or saw something valuable in this article, share it with your friends and family on social media. Who knows, they may finally come to know the reason why their apples get brown so quickly!

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