well i mean the fact that they used limes were also part of the problem, since lemon juice could actually handle those conditions. so everything else being equal they would have seen increased rates of scurvy, but the steam age saved them.
Could it handle those conditions? I was under the impression that all vitamin C degrades with exposure to heat, light, and air. I’m not seeing anything that suggests lemon juice is immune.
Right. The problem is not that they used limes, it’s that they did a bunch of stuff to neuter the effectiveness of the limes.
well i mean the fact that they used limes were also part of the problem, since lemon juice could actually handle those conditions. so everything else being equal they would have seen increased rates of scurvy, but the steam age saved them.
Could it handle those conditions? I was under the impression that all vitamin C degrades with exposure to heat, light, and air. I’m not seeing anything that suggests lemon juice is immune.
as i read it it wasn’t immune, it just took longer.
I’m sorry, I probably should have linked what I was looking at earlier!
This suggests that limes and lemons do not degrade at a markedly different rate. Arguably, this is under modern refrigeration, and not the conditions on a 1900s era sailing ship, but I haven’t seen a source for that yet. I think your namesake is a bit cooler than you’re giving it credit for, haha.