Water Content in Fruits and Vegetables

Problem:

Does the water content of in a single serving of produce relate to the overall nutritionin a serving of that food?

Materials:

• Orange, pineapple, watermelon, fresh peas, tomato or broccoli
• Dehydrator
• Good scale sufficient for measuring mg. (triple beam or electronic)
• Calculator
• Internet access

Procedure

1. Weigh each fruit and vegetable separately and note its weight. For some fruits (such as a watermelon), weighing a serving size of the fruit will be more appropriate.
2. Cut the produce up into thin slices and put it into the dehydrator. You may have to dehydrate each item separately. Just make sure that you dehydrate all of the pieces of a fruit together.
3. Weight the dehydrated produce.
4. Calculate what percentage of the fruit or vegetable is water by subtracting the dehydrated weight from the hydrated weight. Divide this value by the entire weight of the fruit and multiplying by 100.
5. Make a chart comparing the water content of the fruits and veggies.
6. Go to the USDA web site (found in the Bibliography) and find the nutrient value of each food.
7. If the student has time, repeat this experiment with other foods.