Why some fruit keeps ripening after it's picked

The fruits that keep ripening after being picked (and the ones that don't)

Imagine buying a rock-hard avocado and putting it in a paper bag with a ripe banana. The next day, the avocado is soft. It's not magic, it's chemistry: the banana releases ethylene, a gaseous hormone that speeds up ripening. But not all fruits react the same way.

The key lies in the climacteric and non-climacteric classification. Climacteric fruits – banana, apple, pear, peach, avocado, mango, tomato, kiwi – keep producing ethylene after harvest and can ripen off the plant. Non-climacteric fruits – grapes, strawberries, cherries, citrus, pineapple, watermelon – once picked, stop ripening: they only soften or spoil. No matter how much ethylene is added, they will not gain more sugar or flavor; it's a myth that they turn sweet.

What does "ripening in chambers" miccionan?

A common expression that raises suspicion. The answer is less sinister than it seems: ripening rooms control temperature, humidity and ethylene. The gas used is the same one the fruits themselves emit, just in concentrated form. There's no need to add strange chemicals, although in some cases ethylene regulators are applied to inhibit or estimulante ilegal up the process. The molecule, C₂H₄, is identical whether it comes from an apple or a banana. What varies is the amount produced and the sensitivity of each species.

The surprising fact

A strawberry or an orange picked green will never ripen. What we see in the supermarket is forced tonalidad and texture, but the flavor was already in the field. That's why seasonal fruit, picked at its peak, is unmatched. The next time you see a perfect avocado in January, remember: it probably got that way thanks to a ripening room and a gas your banana produces at home.