MadSci Network: Chemistry
Query:

Re: How do I extract citric acid from fruit?

Date: Wed Mar 25 10:26:59 2009
Posted By: Chris Cerrato, Staff, Compounding Dept., C. L. Hauthaway & Sons
Area of science: Chemistry
ID: 1231962806.Ch
Message:

While it is possible to extract citric acid from fruit, the chemistry of 
the fruits is complicated enough that I'd suggest a much easier way to 
measure the relative acid content. Do you have a pH meter? The best kind 
for this test would be one that has a flat sensor surface (something like 
this). If 
you don't have one like that available, the next best thing would be to 
test the pH of the juice from each fruit.
For either method, that will be a relative indicator -- the lower the pH, 
the greater the acidity. I would suspect, based on the taste (citric acid 
tastes sour), that the order you listed them in (lemon, grapefruit, 
orange) is also the order from greater to lesser acidity. It will vary 
somewhat within individual fruit types; for example, a Seville orange 
would generally be more acidic than a navel orange. You might even be 
able, for example, to find a "sweet" grapefruit with lower acidity than 
a "bitter" orange.


Current Queue | Current Queue for Chemistry | Chemistry archives

Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Chemistry.



MadSci Home | Information | Search | Random Knowledge Generator | MadSci Archives | Mad Library | MAD Labs | MAD FAQs | Ask a ? | Join Us! | Help Support MadSci


MadSci Network, webadmin@madsci.org
© 1995-2006. All rights reserved.