# How to ripen avacado's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109 "2003-04-25T13:51:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/1 "2003-04-25T13:51:50Z")
I vaguely remember something about putting an avacado in a paper bag for a day to ripen it. Anyone out there have a quick remedy for this… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/2 "2003-04-25T13:54:14Z")
Try putting it in a sealed bag with a banana. There’s some ester or something released by bananas that’s meant to ripen other fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/3 "2003-04-25T14:00:26Z")
You knew there had to be a [California Avocado Commission](http://www.avocado.org/about/2000_23.php?sd=about), didn’t you? > [@](#): > > Avocado enthusiasts with unripened hard fruit need not despair. To speed the ripening process, simply place the fruit in an ordinary paper bag and store at room temperature until ready to eat (usually two to five days). Including an apple in the bag speeds up the process even more. I believe using a paper bag allows some moisture to escape, unlike a plastic bag, reducing spoilage. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/4 "2003-04-25T14:18:01Z")
Yep a paper back will do it everytime, not just with avacado’s with any fruit. Next time you get an unripe peach throw it in a paper bag for two days, it will taste so perfectly good you’ll be amazed!! ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/5 "2003-04-25T14:19:38Z")
I read that the paper bag was only used to keep out light and that circulating air helps. So I have a small key-shelf in the hall of my apartment that gets no sunlight and I put mine there. Works perfectly, usually in 3 to 4 days. -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/6 "2003-04-25T14:36:00Z")
I just pop it in the fruit bowl with the apples and bananas and it is usually ripe enough the next day. (But then I am particularly choosy when shopping for fruit and veg and I don’t buy them very underripe) ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/7 "2003-04-25T18:07:39Z")
Putting it into a paper bag traps the ethylene gas that the fruit naturally produces. Ethylene is the hormone (the first gaseous hormone ever discovered, BTW) that causes senescense; it makes flowers drop petals and die, and causes fruit to ripen. Bananas are known for the large amount of ethylene gas they pump out, so if their ethylene output is trapped in there along with the avocado’s, the avocado will ripen faster than it would by itself. (Apples and tomatoes also put out a lot of the stuff, IIRC.) Also, never leave a fruit bowl, especially one with bananas, under a vase of flowers. Plastic would trap the ethylene, but would also keep in moisture, encouraging rot along with ripening. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/8 "2003-04-26T05:31:19Z")
thanks for the feedback. Paper and banana’s (fruit) it is… ---
**Author:** ![Skeptico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Skeptico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeptico)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-ripen-avacados/171109/9 "2003-04-26T07:20:51Z")
**GilaB** , that’s some truly fascinating info, the ethylene gas theory. THANK YOU!