Why do ripe fruits -- especially when canned -- smell bad? -- excluding apples and cantaloupes

[Radium]

Hi:

I know I've brought this subject up before but I just can't get over it. I apologize profusely to those who might be annoyed. You may notice some changes though.

I notice that many fruits [excluding apples & cantaloupes] emit foul odors when ripe. What chemicals are responsible for this? I've done as much research as I can on this but not gotten anywhere. This isn't a homework assignment. I am asking these questions out of personal interest.

I hate those odors. That why I like to eat apricots, peaches, and similar fruits when they are sour, hard, and greenish. When sour, hard, and greenish, most fruits smell pleasant. When they are too ripe, they become excessively sweet, grossly-soft up and turn mucus yellow; this is when they start to stink.

What causes those immeasurably-foul odors?

It could not be putricine. Putricine smells like rotting flesh, which is also a foul odor but totally different from that of ripe fruits. To my nose, over-ripe fruits don't have a smell that even nearly resembles rotting flesh. Both are equally bad odors, though.

Its also not ethylene - a chemical used to speed ripening. Ethylene has a sweet pleasant smell to it. I have smelled it myself in a lab. It's beautiful.

Butyric acid smells like stinky cheese [including Swiss], smelly feet, sweaty shirts, dirty socks, neck-sweat, back sweat, filthy scalp and unwashed hair. So it definitely isn't butyric acid. In fact, since these foul odors occur after ripening [a process which uses up the acids]; I doubt that any acid or acidic substance is responsible for the foul odor of ripe fruits.

I notice the stink especially in canned fruits. Most fresh fruits don't have as much of a strong stink even when ripe. However, canned fruits [often dripping in syrup] have an unbearable stench to me. Maybe it is something to do with the sugar? I don't know. I do know that it has nothing to do with the metals of the can or the effects of the metals on the fruit/syrup. Perhaps the ripe substances are more concentrated in the can, than when fresh.

Why do canned ripe fruits stink more badly than fresh ripe fruits?

Also, it can't be ethanol. I like the smell of ethanol.

I've asked similar questions in science newsgroups, and they think I have an olfactory perception disorder causing me to perceive odors differently from other humans. I don't believe this at all.

I've taken smell tests in my organic chemistry lab. I've takes organic chemistry as a course in my college. Long list of chemicals I've gone through. Still no answer to the stench of ripe fruits. In addition, none of the chemicals I sniffed even remotely smell like ripe fruit.

My guess is the stink of ripe fruits is a result of a mixture of different organic substances, excluding both the following chemicals and their effects on other chemicals:

1. putricine [or any amines]

1. ethylene [sweet smell]

2. butyric acid [or any acid/acidic substance for that matter]

1. ethanol [sweet smell resembling most alcoholic beverages]

2. chemicals resulting from fungus

1. chemicals resulting from decomposition [including bacterial decay]

2. Hydrocarbons [compounds containing only Carbon and Hydrogen]

1. Alcohols [organic compounds with attached OH hydroxide molecule]

2. Chemicals that specifically result from -- or are affected by -- rancidity

1. Inorganic substances -- such as metals

2. Effects of inorganic substances on organic substances

I have tried tiresomely searching on google but there are no websites that have an answer to my question.

Also, I've noticed that most ripe fruits do not have to be rotten in order to give off the foul odors I sense. Simply being ripe causes the odor.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

If this is out of your expertise would you please give me an idea of who could answer my question?

No offense but please respond with reasonable answers & keep out the jokes, off-topic nonsense, exaggerations, taunts, insults, and trivializations. I am really interested in this.

I am 23 years old, free-of-brain-tumors, but have a neurological disability called Asperger's Syndrome.

I would like to give you some information about my disability. The reason I am posting this message about Asperger's is to help avoid any potential misunderstandings [though it's probably too late].

I have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). AS is a neurological condition that causes significant impairment in social interactions. People with AS see the world differently and this can often bring them in conflict with conventional ways of thinking. They have difficulty in reading body language, and interpreting subtle cues. In my situation, I have significant difficulty with natural conversation, reading social cues, and maintaining eye contact. This can lead to a great deal of misunderstanding about my intent or my behavior. For example, I may not always know what to say in social situations, so I may look away or may not say anything. I also may not always respond quickly when asked direct questions, but if given time I am able express my ideas.

On Usenet, the text-equivalent of my disability is probably noticed. I do apologize profusely, for any inconvenience it causes.

Thank you very much in advance for your understanding, cooperation, and assistance.

Thanks,

Radium

[David Hare-Scott]

Assuming that you are serious about this, and I suspect that you have been told before, your reaction is an individual one. Quite obviously smell is subjetcive to a degree although for many smells people frequently agree if they are attractive or not.

If you are genuine about finding out why you have this reaction I would try sniffing as many categories or chemicals as you can get your hands on. There is no point in listing them here as clearly most people are not going to share your reaction and so we cannot give any clue whcih type(s) it might be. You will have to identify them yourself. When you have found out whcih types you have the reaction to then it may be of some value comparing them by name with the reaction that most people have or looking further into why this should be so.

David

[Glenna Rose]

My question is: Who cans canteloupe?