Do bananas ripen better in rice sacks?
Okay, I know the title is a little ridiculous, but I swear I am not making this up. When I was a kid, my parents bought a lot of rice and a lot of bananas (among other things). They would get the big 25# sacks of rice, which seem to be made of several layers of kraft paper, and put them in a cabinet.
When they bought bananas that were a little too green to eat, they would put whole bunches into the rice sack for a day or two. Does that actually make any difference for ripening? If so, is it because of the rice? The paper bag? The cool, dry, dark environment in the cabinet? Something else entirely?
This question looks related, but I don't know if the extra conditions I've noted make a difference beyond what was noted in the answer there: Why does a brown paper bag speed ripening?
Best Answer
Yeah, I would agree with the people in the comments, and make the assumption that it had to do with concentrating the ethylene gas from the bananas.
After a bit of googling, it looks like the rice bag trick might be popular because it apparently results in a nearly ideal, stable environment for ripening.
I imagine that the rice would keep the moisture level at a lower point, the bag would contain the gas, and the mass of the rice would decrease the temperature variants (assuming that is conducive to ripening)
I found an informative article which mentioned rice bags here: http://monsterguide.net/how-to-ripen-bananas-quickly
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Does rice make bananas ripen faster?
Bananas and apples give off more ethylene than other fruits, so if you stick one of these in the bag with the other fruit you want to ripen, it should speed up the ripening process even more. You can also use rice to speed up ripening instead of a paper bag. Uncooked rice is great at trapping ethylene.Do bananas ripen faster in the bag or out of the bag?
You can take advantage of ethylene's ripening properties at home by putting your banana into a closed paper bag; the paper will trap ethylene while letting in enough oxygen to help move the process along. For even faster ripening, add an apple, pear, apricot, or avocado \u2014 they also release ethylene.Where is the best place to ripen bananas?
How to Ripen Bananas for Eating- Warm Spot: Put them in the warmest area of your home. Good locations might be on top of your refrigerator or next to a sunny window. ...
- Paper Bag: To speed the ripening process, put the bananas in a paper bag and loosely fold down the top.
Do bananas ripen faster in a container?
The independent variable was container types and the dependent variable was the speed of ripening as determined by the Chiquita Banana Ripeness Stage Scale. The major finding was that bananas in a closed, airtight container did not ripen as quickly as bananas exposed to air.More answers regarding do bananas ripen better in rice sacks?
Answer 2
The basic idea is - banana ripens fast due to ethylene secretion. As it ripens (and subsequently starts rotting really fast), it secretes ethylene, which not only fastens the ripening process but also leads to ripening of any other fruit kept close to the banana.
Placing bananas in bunches or in an enclosed environment like a sack means consolidation, which means more ethylene emitted in one area and faster ripening. Try placing a raw fruit near a banana which is ripening and see the magic :)
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