How to Ripen Fruits Faster So You Can Enjoy Them

Before We Look At How To Control Fruit Ripening, Let Us See How Fruits Ripen

Fruit-bearing plants grow and accumulate water and nutrients from the plant which they use to create their flesh and seeds. Most fruits provide protection to the developing seeds at first. They are usually hard and not appealing to predators then. But after seed development and fruit growth, the properties of the fruit change to make it more attractive to potential consumers, such as animals, birds, and humans. These changes include external features, like softness to the touch, and internal features, like sweetness. Fruits also change color as they ripen.

First, the softness or firmness of fruit is regulated by the state of its cell walls. Cell walls surround each plant cell and consist of a rigid layer of sugars called polysaccharides, which encase each cell’s plasma membrane. The three main polysaccharides of the cell wall are cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. Cellulose is made up of hundreds of glucose sugars joined together to form a long chain; hemicelluloses are also long chains of sugars, but unlike cellulose, they can include many different types of sugar, such as glucose, xylose, galactose, or mannose, and instead of being linear, they are branched structures. Pectins are also long, branched chains of sugars, but in this case, the sugars are galacturonic acid, rhamnose, galactose, or arabinose. As the cell wall begins to break down, the fruit starts to get softer.The activity of these enzymes affects the shelf life and texture of the fruit. The activity of these enzymes is also affected by the fluid pressure inside the plasma membrane, which keeps the fruit firm. However, after maturation or harvest, fruits lose fluid, causing a decrease in turgor pressure and making the fruit shrivel. In fruits like strawberries, once the fruit loses 6-10% of its fluid, it is no longer able to maintain its firm texture, making it unappealing to consumers.

What makes a fruit taste sweet is the increase of simple sugars, such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose, during ripening . This is most noticeable in bananas. Green bananas have no sweetness, but as they ripen, they become sweeter. There is also less acidity and bitterness as a fruit ripens. The pleasant aroma of a ripe fruit comes from complex compounds that are released into the air.

The changes mentioned in the text cause fruits to become ripe, sweet, coloured, soft, and good-tasting. These qualities make the fruit more attractive to potential consumers, which in turn helps the plant to spread its seeds more effectively and ensure its survival.

How Can We Stop Fruits From Ripening During Storage And Transport?

A major problem with ripened fruit is that it goes bad quickly. The softening of the fruit and the production of sugars that comes with ripening makes the fruit more susceptible to pathogens like bacteria, which causes spoilage. A lot of fruit is wasted during transportation because it spoils before it makes it to its destination, especially with softer fruits like mangoes and bananas. You can prevent this by transporting the fruit quickly or by slowing down the ripening process. There are a few ways to do this, like lowering the temperature. You can usually find raspberries already frozen in the store.While freezing tends to retain the nutritional value of the fruit, some fruits, such as bananas, can be damaged by chilling. To slow down ripening, some controls the atmosphere around the fruit, by increasing carbon dioxide levels and reducing oxygen levels. Another way to slow down ripening is to block the action of ethylene by using synthetic compounds, such as 1-methyl-cyclo-propene (1-MCP).

Ethylene Gas Can Be Used To Regulate Fruit Ripening

Ethylene is a gas that is known for causing fruit to ripen. Every fruit has a certain level of ethylene production, but in some fruits, ethylene levels shoot up when the fruit starts ripening. Based on their response to ethylene during maturation, fruits can be classified into two major groups. The first group is called the climacteric fruits, which ripen faster when exposed to ethylene. These include fleshy fruits, such as tomato, avocado, apple, melon peach, kiwi, and banana. The second group is called the non-climacteric fruits, which do not produce more ethylene as they ripen, but can still ripen if they are exposed to an external ethylene source, such as a ripening climacteric fruit.

Ethylene exposure causes climacteric fruit to produce more ethylene until a peak concentration is reached, at which point ripening occurs. Ripening can be slowed by reducing ethylene production or by blocking ethylene’s actions. Low temperatures reduce metabolism and thus ripening. Limiting oxygen also slows ripening, as oxygen is necessary to produce ethylene. Carbon dioxide and 1-MCP inhibit ethylene action.The fruit can be ripened by exposure to ethylene gas when it reaches its destination.

Ethylene affects ripening differently depending on various factors. For example, how sensitive the fruit is to ethylene determines how readily it will ripen. For example, cantaloupes and bananas are highly sensitive to ethylene, so ripening is immediately stimulated by ethylene. However, less sensitive fruits like tomatoes or apples only have their ripening process reduced when exposed to ethylene. Additionally, some fruits like avocados do not ripen while attached to the tree and gradually increase their sensitivity to ethylene with time after harvest.

How to Ripen All Your Favorite Fruits Faster So You Can Enjoy Them NOW

How to Ripen a Banana Fast

There are two ways to ripen bananas quickly. The first method takes a bit longer but produces better results, while the second method works quickly but doesn’t taste as good.

To ripen green bananas faster, put them in a brown paper bag with an apple. seal the bag by folding over the top a few times.

The vast majority of the time, my bananas are perfect to eat the day after I’ve bought them. If the skins are very green, it may take two days, but that’s still much faster than if I left them to ripen on their own. If I want a banana immediately and can’t wait even a day, I can use a ripening trick with the oven that works for avocados. However, it’s important to note that, like avocados, the flavor of a banana ripened this way is not the same as a banana that has ripened naturally.

Place unpeeled bananas in the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes to make them softer and sweeter. This is good to do when you plan to use them as an ingredient in something else, not as the main dish. For example, they would not be good for banana sushi but would be fine to add to cereal.

Quick Ways to Ripen Strawberries Faster

The not-so-great news is that strawberries won’t ripen anymore once they’ve been picked. However, in contrast to other fruits, you can make those unripened, tart berries taste more palatable.

You can make strawberries ripen faster by putting sugar on them, but that’s not very healthy. A healthier method takes a bit longer, but it’s still faster than just putting them in the fridge.

If you want your strawberries to last longer, try this hack from Consumer Queen. Lay the berries out on a cookie sheet, making sure they’re not touching, and set them on the back of your counter where they won’t be moved. Another friend puts them in her oven (not turned on), since she has a dog that likes to get into things. This won’t make the strawberries ripen any faster, but it will help them last longer. Just don’t let them go too long or they’ll start to rot.

How to Ripen a Pear Quickly

Pears are best eaten when they are ripened off the tree, as opposed to on the tree. Most pears are picked before they are ripe, which can result in a hard and bitter fruit.

There are a few ways that you can ripen pears quickly. One way is to put the pear in a bag with a ripe banana and wait a day or two. This works because the banana releases ethylene, which speeds up the ripening process.

The chilling method can improve the ripening speed of Bartlett pears if done for 2-3 days at 30 degrees. However, for other types of pears like Bosc, it can take 2-6 weeks. This is why farmers do it before sending their pears off to the market.

Other Fruits That Ripen Faster Using The Paper Bag Method

As you can see above, the paper bag method is the most common way to ripen fruits faster. Aside from pears, mangoes, and bananas, it also works on:

• Kiwis
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Avocados
• Plums
• Peaches
• Tomatoes

You can put different types of fruit in the bag. If you want the best results, put one ripe piece of fruit in with the others.

Why Does A Rotten Apple Spoil The Whole Basket? How Can This Knowledge Help Us?

Ethylene production also occurs naturally as fruits ripen Ethylene is produced naturally by all plants at different stages of their life cycle, with production increasing up to 100-fold in response to things like a wound. Ethylene is also produced as fruits ripen.

After fruits like tomatoes, bananas, and pears are picked, they are often ripened with ethylene gas. This gas is used because fruits picked in their hard, green, but mature stage can be transported and stored before ripening has started. Once the fruit reaches its destination, ripening is conducted under controlled conditions, such as in special ripening rooms with specific temperature, humidity, and ethylene concentration. This allows the fruit to ripen at a more consistent rate. You might see these fruits labeled as “Ripe ‘n’ Ready” in stores.While both ethylene and methyl jasmonate are reported to be safe for humans, they can be relatively pricey.