Is it scientifically verified that bananas will ripen faster when kept in a bowl with other fruit?
I've heard you shouldn't keep bananas in a bowl with other fruit. But they all look so happy together.
What I'd like to see is hard science here. Or at least documented and repeatable observation. For example, I read lots of people saying simply "it's the ethylene gas", but what's eluded my searching eye is a chart of which common fruits emit how much of this gas, or the ripening effect of x amount of this gas for y duration at z distance from other fruits in the vicinity. I'd do an experiment myself, but I don't have any particular biology expertise to properly structure a control, etc., and maybe it's already been done?
While I'm not saying this oft-heard claim is false, I am saying I've neither been convinced that it's verifiably so as far as having been proven, nor convinced that any ripening-hastening is of significant concern (shortens the life of a banana by a day or more). If it is, we'll have to issue a cease-and-desist order to my household regarding the convenient stacking of all our colorful fruit friends in one place.
Follow-up inquiry: Even if this banana ripening-rate-quickening is true for apples and oranges, are there certain fruits that are okay to leave in the bowl with bananas?
Best Answer
I think you've got this mostly backwards. The reason not to store bananas with other fruit is that the ripening bananas emit a lot of ethylene gas and will cause the other fruit to spoil more quickly. You can also use this to your advantage: got a pear that you want to ripen quicker? Put it in a paper bag with ripe bananas overnight.
Other fruit emits ethylene as well, but generally in large quantities only when they are already quite ripe.
Here is a pretty good reference: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0531/p15s01-lifo.html
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Quick Answer about "Is it scientifically verified that bananas will ripen faster when kept in a bowl with other fruit?"
The reason not to store bananas with other fruit is that the ripening bananas emit a lot of ethylene gas and will cause the other fruit to spoil more quickly. You can also use this to your advantage: got a pear that you want to ripen quicker? Put it in a paper bag with ripe bananas overnight.Do bananas ripen faster with other fruit?
So why do bananas appear to speed up the ripening process of other fruits too? "Bananas make other fruit ripen because they release a gas called ethene (formerly ethylene)," added Dr Bebber.What happens when you place an over ripe banana in a fruit bowl with other fruit?
Bananas, mangoes, kiwis and other ethylene-producing fruits may cause early spoilage and increase food waste.Why does storing bananas with other fruits cause them to ripen faster?
So why do bananas appear to speed up the ripening process of other fruits too? "Bananas make other fruit ripen because they release a gas called ethene (formerly ethylene)," added Dr Bebber.Does fruit ripen faster in a bowl?
"If you've got bananas, apples and peaches together in a fruit bowl, they will potentially all ripen faster than you would like [because of the ethylene]. "It's helpful if you can understand how ethylene works, so you can use it to your advantage."How Supermarkets get Fruit to Ripen Faster | Earth Lab
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Answer 2
For Apples, see:
- The Role of Ethylene in Determining Apple Harvest and Storage Life, in the May 1986 Post Harvest Pomology Newsletter, Vol. 4(1)
There are also various websites that give instructions if you'd like to do experiments yourself (generally geared towards classroom instruction):
- http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryexperiments/ss/ethyleneexp.htm
- http://botany.org/bsa/misc/mcintosh/badapple.html
... but for a more complete list, go to Google Scholar, and search for 'ethylene' + whatever fruit you're interested in; you'll find stuff going back many, many decades.
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