What makes the cherry red

Today's Wonder of the Day is the perfect reason to get into the kitchen to help cook up some cherry-licious treats! If you can find fresh cherries in season, pit about two cups' worth to make delicious fresh cherry cobbler. If you'd prefer to make something with cherry pie filling, try your hand at these easy-to-make miniature chocolate-cherry cheesecakes! If you like to do your own canning, you can make your own homemade maraschino cherries.

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Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Are all cherries red? Did George Washington really cut down a cherry tree when he was a young boy?

Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Today's Wonder of the Day is the perfect reason to get into the kitchen to help cook up some cherry-licious treats! Did you get it? Test your knowledge. Wonder Words sundae envision genus fleshy stone varieties vivid maraschino artificial dye scarlet tart nutritious antioxidant immune honesty ironic Take the Wonder Word Challenge.

Join the Discussion. Sep 19, Welcome back, olivia! Cherry is a popular ingredient in many dessert. One fruit that pops into our heads when we think of summer is cherry. But why are cherries red?

How is their red different from other fruits? And why are Maraschino cherries so bright red? All this and more, coming right up. Cherries are red because they contain anthocyanin, a natural pigment that is also an antioxidant. Anthocyanin goes from red to blue on the color spectrum, and in cherries it is red because these are very acidic fruits. Some cherry types have a stronger concentration of pigment, like tart cherries dark red , while other cherries have a lighter pigment concentration.

Pigments develop differently as the cherries mature. And just like apples, wherever the sun hits, the cherries darken and turn red. Most cherries have a deep, dark red color. However, similar levels of expression of PaMYBA1 in blush, red and black sweet cherry fruit indicate that there are additional factors that contribute to differences in colour intensity.

Therefore, it is possible that PaMYBPA1 could regulate both tannin and anthocyanin synthesis, particularly when expressed at high levels. Taking into consideration the expression of flavonoid pathway genes in different sweet cherry cultivars and tissues, and under different environmental conditions, together with published scientific observations of the genetic factors contributing to fruit colour, we have developed a working model for flavonoid pathway regulation in sweet cherry fruit.

However, it provides a general understanding of differences in the activity of the flavonoid pathway between sweet cherry cultivars, and moves us closer to knowing the identity of the inherited factors that determine skin and flesh colour in sweet cherry fruit. Thesis Ph. Copyright material removed from digital thesis. See print copy in University of Adelaide Library for full text.