Question

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and other one labelled as Reason (R).

Assertion (A): Process of blanching minimises discolouration of food during dehydration.

Reason (R): Blanching cleans raw material and reduces surface bacterial load of the produce.

In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below.

• A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
• B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is NOT the correct explanation of (A).
• C. (A) is true but (R) is false.
• D. (A) is false but (R) is true.

Hint:

Ask which specific effect of blanching, enzyme inactivation or surface cleaning, is actually responsible for preventing browning.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Blanching is a short heat treatment, usually hot water or steam, applied to fruits and vegetables before drying, freezing or canning.

Step 2: Check Assertion (A). One of the main reasons blanching is done before dehydration is to stop enzymatic browning. The enzyme mainly responsible, polyphenol oxidase, causes cut or peeled produce to darken when exposed to air and heat during drying. Blanching heat denatures this enzyme, so the dried product keeps a better colour. This makes (A) true.

Step 3: Check Reason (R). Blanching in hot water or steam does also rinse surface dirt off the produce and kills a good portion of the surface microbial load because of the heat exposure. Taken by itself, this statement about blanching is also true.

Step 4: Now check whether (R) actually explains (A). The reason discolouration is minimised is enzyme inactivation, not surface cleaning or reduced bacterial count. A perfectly clean, low microbial load piece of produce would still brown badly during drying if its oxidative enzymes were left active. So (R), while true, does not explain why (A) happens.

Step 5: Both statements are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A), which is option 2.

Why the other options fail: Option 1 wrongly treats (R) as the explanation for (A). Options 3 and 4 both require one of the statements to be false, but both statements are factually correct on their own.