the processor all produce different proportions of intact and broken cells The more thoroughly the cells are broken, the more their contents are exposed to each other and to the air, and the more their flavor evolves A coarse pesto will have a flavor most like the flavor of fresh basil leaves Cooked Purees: Vegetables, Applesauce Most vegetable purees are made by first cooking the vegetable to soften its tissues, break apart the cells, and free their thickening molecules Some that develop an especially suave smoothness have cell walls rich in soluble pectin, which escapes from the softened wall fragments during pureeing These vegetables include carrots, cauliflower, and capsicum peppers; more than 75% of the cell-wall solids in capsicum puree is pectin Many root and tuber vegetables (though not carrots) contain starch granules, which when cooked absorb much of the water in the vegetable and make it less watery However, such vegetables are best crushed gently, without breaking open the cells Thorough pureeing that liberates the gelated starch turns the vegetable into a super-thick potato gravy, gluey and stringy Even though fruits are presoftened by ripening, cooks often heat them to improve their texture, flavor, and storage life One of the most popular cooked fruit sauces is applesauce, which is meant to have a certain coarseness and yet not seem grainy The cells of different varieties have different tendencies to adhere to each other, and that tendency can change with time in storage Most of the soft varieties used to make sauce produce finergrained purees with time, while the Macintosh produces coarser ones Tomato Sauce: The Importance of Enzymes and Temperatures The most familiar vegetable puree in the West, and perhaps in ... the vegetable into a super-thick potato gravy, gluey and stringy Even though fruits are presoftened by ripening, cooks often heat them to improve their texture, flavor, and storage life One of the most popular cooked fruit sauces is... coarseness and yet not seem grainy The cells of different varieties have different tendencies to adhere to each other, and that tendency can change with time in storage Most of the soft varieties used to make sauce produce finergrained purees with time, while the Macintosh... varieties used to make sauce produce finergrained purees with time, while the Macintosh produces coarser ones Tomato Sauce: The Importance of Enzymes and Temperatures The most familiar vegetable puree in the West, and perhaps in