{"id":7963,"date":"2020-09-01T22:13:48","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T14:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefooduntold.com\/?p=7963"},"modified":"2023-05-28T13:30:42","modified_gmt":"2023-05-28T05:30:42","slug":"are-there-fruits-that-continue-to-ripen-after-harvest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefooduntold.com\/food-science\/are-there-fruits-that-continue-to-ripen-after-harvest\/","title":{"rendered":"Are There Fruits That Continue To Ripen After Harvest?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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So you saw your mother brought home a bunch of green bananas. But seriously hard and green. Sounds inedible, right? And then after several days, they turned ripe and yellow. Awesome! But why is that? Why are there fruits that continue to ripen after harvest? The answer lies behind a little science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the ripening process, several physiological changes happen. Inside the fruit, the starch is broken down into simple sugars (such as sucrose, fructose and glucose) making the fruit sweet. The flavor and aroma form. The flesh gets softer and the color changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these changes happen with the presence of ethylene. Ethylene is a natural plant hormone (and natural ripening agent) responsible for the ripening process. The amount of ethylene is low in young fruits. As they mature, they produce more ethylene that speeds up the ripening process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article<\/a> discusses ethylene in more detail.<\/gwmw><\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climacteric fruits and non-climacteric fruits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While fruits are natural ethylene producers, there are many that produce more than the others. There are two classifications of fruits when it comes to ripening: climacteric and non-climacteric fruits. Climacteric fruits can continue it\u2019s ripening process after harvest. That means picking fruits that haven’t reached maturity is totally fine. Here are some common climacteric fruits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n