4. Mangoes Round the Year
Class 5 · Environmental Studies
3 ideas in Class 5 Environmental Studies, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Noticing Food Spoilage
Part of: Food Spoilage and Preservation
The chapter asks children to notice changes to bread or roti by touch, smell and sight over several days. It distinguishes food that has spoiled from food that is wasted and asks why Aman warned Nitu about the potato sabzi.
Why it matters. Noticing changes helps children think carefully about food and avoid eating something that may have spoiled.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask how a food can change in smell or appearance.
- Discuss why tasting is not a safe way to check suspicious food.
- Separate food spoilage from food being wasted.
Try at home. With an adult, observe sealed food packages and read their printed dates. Do not open or taste spoiled food.
Keeping Foods Fresh for a Short Time
Part of: Food Spoilage and Preservation
The chapter gives simple ways to keep four foods fresh for a day or two: keep a bowl of milk in a container with some water, wrap cooked rice in a damp cloth, boil green coriander, and keep onion or garlic in a dry open place.
Why it matters. Choosing a suitable storage method can help families keep food fresh and reduce waste.
Try it in two minutes
- Name a food that needs careful storage.
- Match each food in the chapter to its suggested method.
- Explain why one method may suit one food better than another.
Try at home. Ask an adult how your family stores one food safely and compare it with the chapter's examples.
Making Mamidi Tandra
Part of: Food Spoilage and Preservation
The family chooses ripe mangoes, removes fibres by straining the pulp, mixes in equal amounts of crushed jaggery and sugar, spreads thin layers on a mat and dries them in the sun. They add layers over four weeks, covering the mat in the evening, until the sweet is about four centimetres thick.
Why it matters. The process shows how careful preparation and drying can preserve seasonal fruit for later.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask what happens to ripe mangoes before the pulp is spread.
- Put the mixing, layering and drying steps in order.
- Discuss why the mat is covered in the evening.
Try at home. Draw a four-step flow chart for a food your family preserves, with an adult's help.
What your child will practise
- Keeping Foods Fresh for a Short Time: Ocean Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Keeping Foods Fresh for a Short Time: Ocean Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Making Mamidi Tandra: Garden Quest (Match It Up)
- Making Mamidi Tandra: Jungle Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Noticing Food Spoilage: Lab Explorer Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Quiz: Keeping Foods Fresh for a Short Time (8 questions)
- Quiz: Making Mamidi Tandra (8 questions)
- Quiz: Noticing Food Spoilage (8 questions)