How to speed up the ripening process for fruit? How to judge when fruit is ready to eat?
In warm weather unripe fruits will ripen quickly if left at room temperature. To hasten ripening in cool weather, enclose them in a paper bag or ripening howl (a covered, transparent bowl with a perforated lid).
To ripen tomatoes that have been picked entirely green, wrap each one in newspaper and store in a cool, dry place, such as a cellar. Check their condition every few days.
The following will help you judge when certain fruits are ready to eat:
- Apricot: evenly golden; slightly soft.
- Avocado: resilient but still firm; test at the stem end.
- Banana: uniformly golden; green at the tips for a tarter flavor; lightly flecked with brown for a sweeter taste.
- Citrus fruits: no green showing.
- Kiwi: resilient but still firm.
- Mango: ripens from the center out, so test with a toothpick; pick should slide easily through rind and fruit.
- Melons: sweet aroma and slight softening at the bud end.
- Papaya: fruity to the nose and slightly soft. Peach and nectarine: aromatic and soft but not mushy.
- Pear: resilient but still firm.
- Pineapple: fruity aroma: deep golden color; a leaf pulls out easily.
- Tomato: uniform, deep red; slightly soft but not mushy.
Fully ripe fruits will keep a few days in the refrigerator (citrus fruits longer). Tropical fruits, such as bananas, will darken but remain edible.
