Fruits are botanically similar plant organs in that they are all composed of seeds surrounded by a
juicy, colorful, and aromatic ovary which we humans consume as food. Some things we traditionally
consider to be “vegetables”, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and squash, are actually fruits from
the botanical point of view. However, fruits vary widely in their shape, size, color, texture, flavor,
nutritional properties, potential for extended shelf-life, and ability to withstand different types of
processing. While fruits are delicious, nutritious and therefore desirable components of our diet,
they suffer from being extremely perishable. For this reason, it is often advantageous to preserve
them for longer shelf-life and easier transport to locations distant to the site of production. Processing
also transforms the raw material into new, and perhaps improved, product. This book endeavors to
serve as a single source of information about the biology of fruit and a description of the various
methods used to preserve fruit. The book covers both traditional methods of preservation, such as
canning, freezing, and drying, and looks to the future of novel processes such as high pressure,
pulsed electric fields, and ohmic processing. The second half of the book focuses on the major
processed fruit products and describes the diverse methods that may be used to preserve them.