It turns out, that's kind of true.

事實上，算是說對了

Scientists have shown that reducing a tomato's temperature to below 20°C alters its gene expression,

科學家已經證明，將番茄的溫度降低到 20°C 以下會改變其基因表現

which in turn reduces its yummy tomato smell.

從而減少其美味的番茄氣味

So putting tomatoes in the fridge actually does make a lot of their ripe, juicy flavor disappear!

因此，將番茄放進冰箱確實會使它們成熟、多汁的味道消失！

You might think a food's flavor is determined by the specific mix of chemicals that lands on your tongue.

你可能會覺得食物的味道，取決於舌頭上特定化學物質的混和物

And it is… partially.

這只是...一部分

But by definition, flavor is the overall impression you get from consuming a food or beverage,

但根據定義，味道是你從食物或飲料中獲得的

an impression which results from both taste and smells.

整體印象，這是由味覺和嗅覺所引起的

There are only a handful of distinctive tastes that your taste buds can differentiate:

你的味蕾可以區分出幾種獨特的味道：

sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.

甜、鹹、酸、苦、鮮味

Scents, on the other hand, are practically limitless.

另一方面，氣味其實沒有極限

Some research suggests the average person's nose can distinguish between one trillion

一些研究指出，普通人的鼻子可以區分一兆種不同的氣味

different odors, and all that variety could explain why scent is the largest determinant of flavor.

這些各式各樣的氣味可以解釋，為什麼氣味是決定味道的最大因素

It's like when you were a kid and your parents made you eat something you didn't like,

就像是你小時候，爸媽煮了你不喜歡的東西

and you would hold your nose while you downed it.

你看到時會捏住鼻子

Plugging your nose and blocking the smell of something is actually enough to

塞住鼻子並阻止某個東西的味道，其實味道

seriously diminish the flavor because flavor is so reliant on smell.

已經大大被減少了，因為味道非常仰賴於氣味

Which brings us back to those tomatoes.

我們回到番茄這邊

A tomato's flavor is the result of a combination of tasty sugars and acids, as well as chemicals

番茄味道是美味的糖和酸的結合，以及稱為

called aroma compounds, the molecules that easily leap into the air to give things their distinct smell.

芳香味化合物的化學物質，這些分子很容易跳進空氣中，賦予其獨特的氣味

And even after picking, the fruit continues to make some of these and break down others.

甚至在採摘後，水果會繼續製造其中一些物質並分解其他。

It's still full of living cells, so the overall flavor of the tomato can change over time.

它仍充滿活細胞，因此番茄的整體風味會隨時間而改變。

In a 2016 study, when researchers put ripe tomatoes in the fridge for 7 days,

2006 年的一份研究，研究人員將成熟的番茄放入冰箱中 7 天

volunteers rated the taste of those chilled tomatoes as much less yummy than fresh ones.

志願者認為新鮮的番茄味道比冷藏的要好很多。

But the sugar and acid levels, those key components of taste, didn't differ between the fresh and chilled fruits.

但是，糖和酸的標準，在新鮮和冷藏水果間，味道的關鍵成分沒有差異

What did change were those aroma compounds: refrigerated tomatoes produced 65% less of them.

改變的是那些芳香味化合物：冷藏番茄產生不到 65%

That led the team to conclude that the change in the tomato's flavor is caused by a reduction in its odor molecules,

這讓團隊得出結論，番茄味道的變化是由其氣味分子的減少引起

not due to a change in its actual taste!

而不是由於實際味道的變化！

When they dug deeper, they found that the refrigerated tomatoes had reduced expression

當他們更深入研究時，他們發現冷藏番茄減少了

of genes related to the synthesis of certain molecules, including branched amino acids,

特定分子合成相關的基因表現，包括支鏈胺基酸

fatty acids and esters, three key compounds that are important for aroma compound synthesis.

脂肪酸及酯，對芳香味化合物生成來說，是很重要的三種關鍵化合物

The researchers hypothesized that this could be an evolutionary response for conserving

研究人員假設這可能是在寒冷時節約能量的

energy when it is cold, though they'd need further evidence to confirm that idea.

演變反應，不過需要進一步的證據來證實這想法。

It's not just tomatoes that are ruined by refrigeration, of course.

當然，不只有番茄會被冷藏破壞

You might have noticed that a lot of different fruits seem to taste worse after a stint in

你可能有注意到，很多不同的水果在冰箱中放置後

the fridge, but this is generally thought to be because lower temperatures halt the ripening process.

味道似乎變更差，普遍認為是因為較低的溫度會停止成熟過程

As a fruit ripens, it produces different aroma compounds, and it gains sugars and other tasty molecules.

隨著水果成熟，它會產生不同的芳香味化合物，也可以獲得糖和其他的美味分子

So the less ripe a fruit is, the less yummy it will be.

所以，水果越不成熟，就越不美味

But if you take these fruits out of the fridge and put them on the counter,

但如果你把這些水果從冰箱拿出來，並放在料理台

they will start ripening again and recover most of their flavor.

它們會再次開始成熟並恢復大部分的味道

And once they're ripe, you're supposed to be able to put them back into the cold

一旦它們成熟，你應該把它們放回冰箱

to keep them at that tasty sweet point for longer.

讓美味甜蜜的時刻保留更久

But the researchers in this study weren't starting with under-ripe tomatoes—

但這項研究的研究人員並不是從未成熟的番茄開始

they were starting with ripe ones.

而是從成熟的番茄開始

So the loss of flavor wasn't because they prevented them from becoming fully ripe.

所以失去味道不是因為他們防止番茄完全成熟

And taking the tomatoes out of the fridge didn't fully fix things.

而且把番茄從冰箱拿出來，並不能完全解決問題

So basically, there's no point in a tomato's ripening process where you can refrigerate them without losing flavor.

所以基本上，番茄的成熟過程沒有任何意義，你可以在不失味的情況下冷藏

It's possible, or even likely, this kind of cold-induced flavor loss happens in other ripe fruits, too.

或許，或是很有可能，這種冷誘導的味道損失也發生在其他成熟的水果中

But as of yet, no one has really looked.

但到目前為止，還沒有人真正了解

Either way, if you want the best-tasting produce, you should probably leave your fruits on the

不管怎樣，如果你想要最好吃的農產品，你應該把水果放在料理台上

counter until they are ripe, and never ever put your tomatoes in the fridge.

直到它們成熟，而且永遠不要把番茄放進冰箱

Though, if you really want the tastiest tomatoes, you should probably go for more colorful ones,

但是，如果你真的想要最美味的番茄，你應該選擇顏色更多的番茄

because the rosiest red tomatoes you see in stores just don't taste as good.

因為商店裡看到最紅的番茄，吃起來沒那麼棒

Check out our episode on Why Tomatoes Are So Bland to find out why!

看看我們的影片來了解原因：為何番茄如此平淡無奇？

And as always, thanks for watching, and don't forget to subscribe!

一如往常，感謝觀看，也別忘了訂閱！