• Question: How do fruits turn ripe?

    Asked by Littledec to Yvonne, Yannis, Gonzalo, Golnaz, Elaine, Ciara on 9 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Ioannis Zabetakis

      Ioannis Zabetakis answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      good question!
      it is important to remember that we have climacteric and non-climacteric fruits

      Climacteric fruits are able to continue ripening after being picked, a process accelerated by ethylene gas. Non-climacteric fruits can ripen only on the plant and thus have a short shelf life if harvested when they are ripe. Some fruits can be ripened by placing them in a plastic bag with a ripe banana.

    • Photo: Ciara O'Donovan

      Ciara O'Donovan answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      Tomatoes can also ripen if you put them in a paper bag… this traps the ethylene gas inside the bag and makes the fruit ripen quicker. Cold can also slow down the ripening process so if you want something to not go ripe so fast you can put it in the fridge.

    • Photo: Gonzalo Delgado-Pando

      Gonzalo Delgado-Pando answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      Yannis has explained it very well

    • Photo: Yvonne Lenighan

      Yvonne Lenighan answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      This depends on the fruit, some fruits have to ripen on the plant e.g. blackberries and some fruits will ripen after they are picked using ethylene-like bananas!

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