I'm looking for someone who knows first hand (not guessing or "I've
heard...") how much quicker a bag of avocados will ripen when a banana or
apple is put into the bag.

I have read that ethylene from apples or bananas will help speed up ripening
of various fruits. Problem is.... every posting I've read is "theory" --
no one has actually taken the time to compare the two and post the results
and I don't know anyone in the grocery bidness..... so here I am posting to
the world.

Some people say an apple works, some say a banana does the same thing. But
do you use a green apple, ripe apple, started-to-become-rotten apple, yellow
banana, black banana? Huh? Let's have some facts here, ma'am... just the
facts!

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple, and
will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out if they
are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.

Thanks in advance!! And now.... let the posting begin!!

Fred

PS -- Here's a helpful post, and has some of the answers I'm looking for but
not all...


Search Result 2
From: Kathy Wilhelm )
Subject: The marvels of ethylene (was: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: 1994-08-29 17:34:18 PST


In Article (Stephani
Robson)" says:
I seem to remember from Food Science days that oranges, tomatoes and some
other fruits are exposed to ethane (??) which speeds the ripening.
Actually,
I question whether the fruit is actually RIPER -- it appears that this
gassing
brings on a riper color.....

Ialso have dim memories of hearing that storing bananas with other
unripe fruit will speed the ripening of said fruit due to the gases
released
by the bananas as they rapidly ripen. Anyone know more about this? (I
don't
have my handy On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee at the office....will
check
at home.)
I guess it's time for me to play "plant expert" again . Good thing my
Horticulture 202 notes are still handy! The gas you referred to is
ethylene,
H\ /H
C=C
H/ \H
which is a naturally occurring plant growth regulator. Ethephon (mentioned
in one of the other posts on this thread) is a liquid that breaks down to
produce ethylene.
Because ethylene is a gas, it can be readily applied in
a closed area, which is possible during shipment & storage, but not in a
field. Ethylene induces a lot of things, depending on what the crop
is & when it's present.
With regard to ripening, there are two classes
of fruit. Climacteric fruit, notably tomatoes, apples and tropical fruits
(that's as specific as my notes are!), ripen in a burst. As they appoach the
time for ripening, they produce a lot of ethylene, which induces them to
produce even more, which causes them to ripen. If ethylene is added before
the plant produces its own, it can initiate the process.
Nonclimacteric fruit, such as citrus, cucumbers, grapes & peppers,
ripen more gradually and do not produce a burst of ethylene. Ethylene
treatment will cause them to "ripen" more quickly, but in this case, it's
primarily causing a color change. Oranges ripen slowly and gradually gain a
higher sugar content regardless of their color. Ethylene causes them to
turn orange, but doesn't alter sweetness. It will also cause cucumbers
to turn yellow.
Evidently, tomatoes are treated with ethephon (which breaks down
to produce ethylene) in the field so that the ripening process starts
earlier.
Once it's started, it is self-perpetuating. This means that all the fruit
in
the field begins rhe ripening process at the same time, so you get greater
uniformity of ripening. Thus you need less sorting, which means less
handling
& less bruising of the fruit. It also makes the harvesting procedure more
efficient because there's less unripe fruit to be either discarded or
harvested later.

I hope this isn't more than you bargained for!
Your fellow servant,
Kathy_|_

"Fred" wrote in
:

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple,
and will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out
if they are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.


Hard to tell. Sorta depends on how "unripe" the avocados are to begin
with. The unripe avocados one usually finds in the supermarket should
ripen in 2-3 days if placed in a paper bag with a ripe apple, pear, or
banana. Don't use half rotten fruit.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

*If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.
*A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

"Fred" wrote in
:

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple,
and will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out
if they are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.


Hard to tell. Sorta depends on how "unripe" the avocados are to begin
with. The unripe avocados one usually finds in the supermarket should
ripen in 2-3 days if placed in a paper bag with a ripe apple, pear, or
banana. Don't use half rotten fruit.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

*If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.
*A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

"Wayne" wrote in message
...
"Fred" wrote in
:

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple,
and will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out
if they are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.


Hard to tell. Sorta depends on how "unripe" the avocados are to begin
with. The unripe avocados one usually finds in the supermarket should
ripen in 2-3 days if placed in a paper bag with a ripe apple, pear, or
banana. Don't use half rotten fruit.


But in my experience they also ripen in 2-3 days without any help. I believe
that a ripe banana or apple does speed things up, but not by a lot. With a
banana it might take 2 days as opposed to 3 days without.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Wayne" wrote in message
...
"Fred" wrote in
:

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple,
and will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out
if they are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.


Hard to tell. Sorta depends on how "unripe" the avocados are to begin
with. The unripe avocados one usually finds in the supermarket should
ripen in 2-3 days if placed in a paper bag with a ripe apple, pear, or
banana. Don't use half rotten fruit.


But in my experience they also ripen in 2-3 days without any help. I believe
that a ripe banana or apple does speed things up, but not by a lot. With a
banana it might take 2 days as opposed to 3 days without.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Wayne" wrote in message
...
"Fred" wrote in
:

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple,
and will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out
if they are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.


Hard to tell. Sorta depends on how "unripe" the avocados are to begin
with. The unripe avocados one usually finds in the supermarket should
ripen in 2-3 days if placed in a paper bag with a ripe apple, pear, or
banana. Don't use half rotten fruit.


But in my experience they also ripen in 2-3 days without any help. I believe
that a ripe banana or apple does speed things up, but not by a lot. With a
banana it might take 2 days as opposed to 3 days without.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Wayne" wrote in message
...
"Fred" wrote in
:

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple,
and will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out
if they are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.


Hard to tell. Sorta depends on how "unripe" the avocados are to begin
with. The unripe avocados one usually finds in the supermarket should
ripen in 2-3 days if placed in a paper bag with a ripe apple, pear, or
banana. Don't use half rotten fruit.


But in my experience they also ripen in 2-3 days without any help. I believe
that a ripe banana or apple does speed things up, but not by a lot. With a
banana it might take 2 days as opposed to 3 days without.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 05:19:57 GMT, Fred wrote:

Some people say an apple works, some say a banana does the same thing. But
do you use a green apple, ripe apple, started-to-become-rotten apple, yellow
banana, black banana? Huh? Let's have some facts here, ma'am... just the
facts!

No facts, but some questions instead. If ethylene gas works, what
is the minimum concentration needed to ripen effectively (if
avocados are among the fruits that it is effective with), would one
apple suffice or would many be needed? How permeable to ethylene is
a paper bag? Would a plastic bag or container retain the gas longer
at a higher concentration? I doubt that light/dark cycles would
matter but temperature might. Be prepared to run dozens of
experiments and have lots of chips and a good guacamole recipe

Some time ago - it might be 20 years or more - I read about the
effectiveness of ethylene on tomato ripening. As they were shipped
to markets in railroad boxcars, ethylene gas was introduced.
According to the article the primary effect was to redden the
immature fruit, without actually ripening anything. The packers got
what they wanted. Red, firm fruit still hard enough to resist the
bruising that accompanies handling and shipping, but lacking the
better taste produced by natural ripening. The article might have
been one of John McPhee's written for the New Yorker on
greengrocers. For a moment I thought that I could provide you with
a ready source of ethylene, but I was mistaken. When you add water
to calcium carbide it produces acetylene instead. Not very useful
unless you want to shoot the fruit from a cannon.

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 05:19:57 GMT, Fred wrote:

Some people say an apple works, some say a banana does the same thing. But
do you use a green apple, ripe apple, started-to-become-rotten apple, yellow
banana, black banana? Huh? Let's have some facts here, ma'am... just the
facts!

No facts, but some questions instead. If ethylene gas works, what
is the minimum concentration needed to ripen effectively (if
avocados are among the fruits that it is effective with), would one
apple suffice or would many be needed? How permeable to ethylene is
a paper bag? Would a plastic bag or container retain the gas longer
at a higher concentration? I doubt that light/dark cycles would
matter but temperature might. Be prepared to run dozens of
experiments and have lots of chips and a good guacamole recipe

Some time ago - it might be 20 years or more - I read about the
effectiveness of ethylene on tomato ripening. As they were shipped
to markets in railroad boxcars, ethylene gas was introduced.
According to the article the primary effect was to redden the
immature fruit, without actually ripening anything. The packers got
what they wanted. Red, firm fruit still hard enough to resist the
bruising that accompanies handling and shipping, but lacking the
better taste produced by natural ripening. The article might have
been one of John McPhee's written for the New Yorker on
greengrocers. For a moment I thought that I could provide you with
a ready source of ethylene, but I was mistaken. When you add water
to calcium carbide it produces acetylene instead. Not very useful
unless you want to shoot the fruit from a cannon.

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 05:19:57 GMT, Fred wrote:
I'm looking for someone who knows first hand (not guessing or "I've
heard...") how much quicker a bag of avocados will ripen when a banana or
apple is put into the bag.

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produ.../avocado.shtml
http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/misc/allelo.htm

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 05:19:57 GMT, Fred wrote:
I'm looking for someone who knows first hand (not guessing or "I've
heard...") how much quicker a bag of avocados will ripen when a banana or
apple is put into the bag.

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produ.../avocado.shtml
http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/misc/allelo.htm

See The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore
by Harold McGee

j.


Fred wrote:
I'm looking for someone who knows first hand (not guessing or "I've
heard...") how much quicker a bag of avocados will ripen when a banana or
apple is put into the bag.

I have read that ethylene from apples or bananas will help speed up ripening
of various fruits. Problem is.... every posting I've read is "theory" --
no one has actually taken the time to compare the two and post the results
and I don't know anyone in the grocery bidness..... so here I am posting to
the world.

Some people say an apple works, some say a banana does the same thing. But
do you use a green apple, ripe apple, started-to-become-rotten apple, yellow
banana, black banana? Huh? Let's have some facts here, ma'am... just the
facts!

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple, and
will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out if they
are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.

Thanks in advance!! And now.... let the posting begin!!

Fred

PS -- Here's a helpful post, and has some of the answers I'm looking for but
not all...


Search Result 2
From: Kathy Wilhelm )
Subject: The marvels of ethylene (was: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: 1994-08-29 17:34:18 PST


In Article (Stephani
Robson)" says:

I seem to remember from Food Science days that oranges, tomatoes and some
other fruits are exposed to ethane (??) which speeds the ripening.

Actually,

I question whether the fruit is actually RIPER -- it appears that this

gassing

brings on a riper color.....

Ialso have dim memories of hearing that storing bananas with other
unripe fruit will speed the ripening of said fruit due to the gases

released

by the bananas as they rapidly ripen. Anyone know more about this? (I

don't

have my handy On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee at the office....will

check

at home.)

I guess it's time for me to play "plant expert" again . Good thing my
Horticulture 202 notes are still handy! The gas you referred to is
ethylene,
H\ /H
C=C
H/ \H
which is a naturally occurring plant growth regulator. Ethephon (mentioned
in one of the other posts on this thread) is a liquid that breaks down to
produce ethylene.
Because ethylene is a gas, it can be readily applied in
a closed area, which is possible during shipment & storage, but not in a
field. Ethylene induces a lot of things, depending on what the crop
is & when it's present.
With regard to ripening, there are two classes
of fruit. Climacteric fruit, notably tomatoes, apples and tropical fruits
(that's as specific as my notes are!), ripen in a burst. As they appoach the
time for ripening, they produce a lot of ethylene, which induces them to
produce even more, which causes them to ripen. If ethylene is added before
the plant produces its own, it can initiate the process.
Nonclimacteric fruit, such as citrus, cucumbers, grapes & peppers,
ripen more gradually and do not produce a burst of ethylene. Ethylene
treatment will cause them to "ripen" more quickly, but in this case, it's
primarily causing a color change. Oranges ripen slowly and gradually gain a
higher sugar content regardless of their color. Ethylene causes them to
turn orange, but doesn't alter sweetness. It will also cause cucumbers
to turn yellow.
Evidently, tomatoes are treated with ethephon (which breaks down
to produce ethylene) in the field so that the ripening process starts
earlier.
Once it's started, it is self-perpetuating. This means that all the fruit
in
the field begins rhe ripening process at the same time, so you get greater
uniformity of ripening. Thus you need less sorting, which means less
handling
& less bruising of the fruit. It also makes the harvesting procedure more
efficient because there's less unripe fruit to be either discarded or
harvested later.

I hope this isn't more than you bargained for!
Your fellow servant,
Kathy_|_

See The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore
by Harold McGee

j.


Fred wrote:
I'm looking for someone who knows first hand (not guessing or "I've
heard...") how much quicker a bag of avocados will ripen when a banana or
apple is put into the bag.

I have read that ethylene from apples or bananas will help speed up ripening
of various fruits. Problem is.... every posting I've read is "theory" --
no one has actually taken the time to compare the two and post the results
and I don't know anyone in the grocery bidness..... so here I am posting to
the world.

Some people say an apple works, some say a banana does the same thing. But
do you use a green apple, ripe apple, started-to-become-rotten apple, yellow
banana, black banana? Huh? Let's have some facts here, ma'am... just the
facts!

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple, and
will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out if they
are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.

Thanks in advance!! And now.... let the posting begin!!

Fred

PS -- Here's a helpful post, and has some of the answers I'm looking for but
not all...


Search Result 2
From: Kathy Wilhelm )
Subject: The marvels of ethylene (was: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: 1994-08-29 17:34:18 PST


In Article (Stephani
Robson)" says:

I seem to remember from Food Science days that oranges, tomatoes and some
other fruits are exposed to ethane (??) which speeds the ripening.

Actually,

I question whether the fruit is actually RIPER -- it appears that this

gassing

brings on a riper color.....

Ialso have dim memories of hearing that storing bananas with other
unripe fruit will speed the ripening of said fruit due to the gases

released

by the bananas as they rapidly ripen. Anyone know more about this? (I

don't

have my handy On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee at the office....will

check

at home.)

I guess it's time for me to play "plant expert" again . Good thing my
Horticulture 202 notes are still handy! The gas you referred to is
ethylene,
H\ /H
C=C
H/ \H
which is a naturally occurring plant growth regulator. Ethephon (mentioned
in one of the other posts on this thread) is a liquid that breaks down to
produce ethylene.
Because ethylene is a gas, it can be readily applied in
a closed area, which is possible during shipment & storage, but not in a
field. Ethylene induces a lot of things, depending on what the crop
is & when it's present.
With regard to ripening, there are two classes
of fruit. Climacteric fruit, notably tomatoes, apples and tropical fruits
(that's as specific as my notes are!), ripen in a burst. As they appoach the
time for ripening, they produce a lot of ethylene, which induces them to
produce even more, which causes them to ripen. If ethylene is added before
the plant produces its own, it can initiate the process.
Nonclimacteric fruit, such as citrus, cucumbers, grapes & peppers,
ripen more gradually and do not produce a burst of ethylene. Ethylene
treatment will cause them to "ripen" more quickly, but in this case, it's
primarily causing a color change. Oranges ripen slowly and gradually gain a
higher sugar content regardless of their color. Ethylene causes them to
turn orange, but doesn't alter sweetness. It will also cause cucumbers
to turn yellow.
Evidently, tomatoes are treated with ethephon (which breaks down
to produce ethylene) in the field so that the ripening process starts
earlier.
Once it's started, it is self-perpetuating. This means that all the fruit
in
the field begins rhe ripening process at the same time, so you get greater
uniformity of ripening. Thus you need less sorting, which means less
handling
& less bruising of the fruit. It also makes the harvesting procedure more
efficient because there's less unripe fruit to be either discarded or
harvested later.

I hope this isn't more than you bargained for!
Your fellow servant,
Kathy_|_

Real world update...

I picked about 40 pounds of green avocados on Tuesday and put them in
plastic bags, 6-8 per bag, and then put an apple and a banana in each bag
with the avocados. Then I left them out on a patio table in part sun. Temp
has been around 75F day, 65F night. (It's been unusually cold this year.)

It is now Thursday, and I opened them all and saw that most were just
starting to turn black, although not that much. Plus they are all still
rock hard. Will check again tomorrow and report back!



"Say not the Struggle nought Availeth" wrote in message
m...
See The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore
by Harold McGee

j.


Fred wrote:
I'm looking for someone who knows first hand (not guessing or "I've
heard...") how much quicker a bag of avocados will ripen when a banana
or
apple is put into the bag.

I have read that ethylene from apples or bananas will help speed up
ripening
of various fruits. Problem is.... every posting I've read is
"theory" --
no one has actually taken the time to compare the two and post the
results
and I don't know anyone in the grocery bidness..... so here I am posting
to
the world.

Some people say an apple works, some say a banana does the same thing.
But
do you use a green apple, ripe apple, started-to-become-rotten apple,
yellow
banana, black banana? Huh? Let's have some facts here, ma'am... just
the
facts!

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple, and
will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out if
they
are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.

Thanks in advance!! And now.... let the posting begin!!

Fred

PS -- Here's a helpful post, and has some of the answers I'm looking for
but
not all...


Search Result 2
From: Kathy Wilhelm )
Subject: The marvels of ethylene (was: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: 1994-08-29 17:34:18 PST


In Article (Stephani
Robson)" says:

I seem to remember from Food Science days that oranges, tomatoes and
some
other fruits are exposed to ethane (??) which speeds the ripening.

Actually,

I question whether the fruit is actually RIPER -- it appears that this

gassing

brings on a riper color.....

Ialso have dim memories of hearing that storing bananas with other
unripe fruit will speed the ripening of said fruit due to the gases

released

by the bananas as they rapidly ripen. Anyone know more about this? (I

don't

have my handy On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee at the office....will

check

at home.)

I guess it's time for me to play "plant expert" again . Good thing my
Horticulture 202 notes are still handy! The gas you referred to is
ethylene,
H\ /H
C=C
H/ \H
which is a naturally occurring plant growth regulator. Ethephon
(mentioned
in one of the other posts on this thread) is a liquid that breaks down
to
produce ethylene.
Because ethylene is a gas, it can be readily applied in
a closed area, which is possible during shipment & storage, but not in a
field. Ethylene induces a lot of things, depending on what the crop
is & when it's present.
With regard to ripening, there are two classes
of fruit. Climacteric fruit, notably tomatoes, apples and tropical
fruits
(that's as specific as my notes are!), ripen in a burst. As they appoach
the
time for ripening, they produce a lot of ethylene, which induces them to
produce even more, which causes them to ripen. If ethylene is added
before
the plant produces its own, it can initiate the process.
Nonclimacteric fruit, such as citrus, cucumbers, grapes & peppers,
ripen more gradually and do not produce a burst of ethylene. Ethylene
treatment will cause them to "ripen" more quickly, but in this case,
it's
primarily causing a color change. Oranges ripen slowly and gradually
gain a
higher sugar content regardless of their color. Ethylene causes them to
turn orange, but doesn't alter sweetness. It will also cause cucumbers
to turn yellow.
Evidently, tomatoes are treated with ethephon (which breaks down
to produce ethylene) in the field so that the ripening process starts
earlier.
Once it's started, it is self-perpetuating. This means that all the
fruit
in
the field begins rhe ripening process at the same time, so you get
greater
uniformity of ripening. Thus you need less sorting, which means less
handling
& less bruising of the fruit. It also makes the harvesting procedure
more
efficient because there's less unripe fruit to be either discarded or
harvested later.

I hope this isn't more than you bargained for!
Your fellow servant,
Kathy_|_

Real world update...

I picked about 40 pounds of green avocados on Tuesday and put them in
plastic bags, 6-8 per bag, and then put an apple and a banana in each bag
with the avocados. Then I left them out on a patio table in part sun. Temp
has been around 75F day, 65F night. (It's been unusually cold this year.)

It is now Thursday, and I opened them all and saw that most were just
starting to turn black, although not that much. Plus they are all still
rock hard. Will check again tomorrow and report back!



"Say not the Struggle nought Availeth" wrote in message
m...
See The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore
by Harold McGee

j.


Fred wrote:
I'm looking for someone who knows first hand (not guessing or "I've
heard...") how much quicker a bag of avocados will ripen when a banana
or
apple is put into the bag.

I have read that ethylene from apples or bananas will help speed up
ripening
of various fruits. Problem is.... every posting I've read is
"theory" --
no one has actually taken the time to compare the two and post the
results
and I don't know anyone in the grocery bidness..... so here I am posting
to
the world.

Some people say an apple works, some say a banana does the same thing.
But
do you use a green apple, ripe apple, started-to-become-rotten apple,
yellow
banana, black banana? Huh? Let's have some facts here, ma'am... just
the
facts!

I already have a bag full with nothing else and a bag with an apple, and
will post my results... but in the mean time, I'd like to find out if
they
are likely to ripen in 1 day, 2 days, 15 days, etc.

Thanks in advance!! And now.... let the posting begin!!

Fred

PS -- Here's a helpful post, and has some of the answers I'm looking for
but
not all...


Search Result 2
From: Kathy Wilhelm )
Subject: The marvels of ethylene (was: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: 1994-08-29 17:34:18 PST


In Article (Stephani
Robson)" says:

I seem to remember from Food Science days that oranges, tomatoes and
some
other fruits are exposed to ethane (??) which speeds the ripening.

Actually,

I question whether the fruit is actually RIPER -- it appears that this

gassing

brings on a riper color.....

Ialso have dim memories of hearing that storing bananas with other
unripe fruit will speed the ripening of said fruit due to the gases

released

by the bananas as they rapidly ripen. Anyone know more about this? (I

don't

have my handy On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee at the office....will

check

at home.)

I guess it's time for me to play "plant expert" again . Good thing my
Horticulture 202 notes are still handy! The gas you referred to is
ethylene,
H\ /H
C=C
H/ \H
which is a naturally occurring plant growth regulator. Ethephon
(mentioned
in one of the other posts on this thread) is a liquid that breaks down
to
produce ethylene.
Because ethylene is a gas, it can be readily applied in
a closed area, which is possible during shipment & storage, but not in a
field. Ethylene induces a lot of things, depending on what the crop
is & when it's present.
With regard to ripening, there are two classes
of fruit. Climacteric fruit, notably tomatoes, apples and tropical
fruits
(that's as specific as my notes are!), ripen in a burst. As they appoach
the
time for ripening, they produce a lot of ethylene, which induces them to
produce even more, which causes them to ripen. If ethylene is added
before
the plant produces its own, it can initiate the process.
Nonclimacteric fruit, such as citrus, cucumbers, grapes & peppers,
ripen more gradually and do not produce a burst of ethylene. Ethylene
treatment will cause them to "ripen" more quickly, but in this case,
it's
primarily causing a color change. Oranges ripen slowly and gradually
gain a
higher sugar content regardless of their color. Ethylene causes them to
turn orange, but doesn't alter sweetness. It will also cause cucumbers
to turn yellow.
Evidently, tomatoes are treated with ethephon (which breaks down
to produce ethylene) in the field so that the ripening process starts
earlier.
Once it's started, it is self-perpetuating. This means that all the
fruit
in
the field begins rhe ripening process at the same time, so you get
greater
uniformity of ripening. Thus you need less sorting, which means less
handling
& less bruising of the fruit. It also makes the harvesting procedure
more
efficient because there's less unripe fruit to be either discarded or
harvested later.

I hope this isn't more than you bargained for!
Your fellow servant,
Kathy_|_