Ripening Fruit

[Claire]

OK, I know some fruit will ripen on the shelf. I'm a sucker for buying stuff for kids' school fund-raisers, and am happy that the past couple of years, instead of buying unwanted candy bars, I'm buying boxes of fruit. HOWEVER, this year a box of pears arrived not ripe enough (edible, but too green to taste like much).

Question is, will pears ripen if I leave them out? In the fridge drawer?

[Rocklobster]

Here is the technique I use.

Use a container with a tight lid. The lid helps trap the ethylene gas that fruits give off as they ripen. The fruit ripens faster in higher concentrations of ethylene gas. You can also use a brown paper bag. Fold the bag top down to keep in the ethylene gas.

[justplainbill]

Pretty much says it all-
How to ripen winter pears to perfection

[babetoo]

brown bag works for me. don't do em all at once. then you can do a few at a time and enjoy them longer.

[Bolas De Fraile]

I pick my conference pears early, I then place on brown paper with gaps in between and cover with more paper, if I get the timing right(about 3 months) they are perfect for Chrimbo.

[taxlady]

I stick whatever fruit I want ripened in a plastic bag with an apple.

[vitauta]

i placed one of my nectarines in a brown paper bag early, early this morning. it is now 13 hours later - it has some give but is not ready to eat yet. i think it will be ripe for breakfast tomorrow....

[Snip 13]

Originally Posted by Claire

OK, I know some fruit will ripen on the shelf. I'm a sucker for buying stuff for kids' school fund-raisers, and am happy that the past couple of years, instead of buying unwanted candy bars, I'm buying boxes of fruit. HOWEVER, this year a box of pears arrived not ripe enough (edible, but too green to taste like much).

Question is, will pears ripen if I leave them out? In the fridge drawer?

Yes they will, just don't put them in the fridge! You can also put a few bananas with them to rush the ripening process. They ommit a gas that ripens the fruit. I keep my fruit in an open veggie rack in my kitchen.

Fruit that will ripen after picking:
Pears, peaches, avocado, apples, bananas, passion fruit, plums, papayas, persimmons, tomatoes, kiwi, honeydew melon, mangoes, guavas and figs.

Fruit that won't ripen: (some will soften but not ripen or get sweeter)
Grapes, pineapples, citrus fruit, strawberries, watermelons.

Hope this is helpful.

[vitauta]

i just finished having a beautiful bowl of ripe nectarines with sweetened heavy cream for breakfast. one nectarine was ripened overnight in a paper bag, the others sat out on the kitchen counter for the same amount of time. all were equally ripe, juicy and delicious....