What fruit really ripen well after picking?

[LivingInThePast]

Okay, it seems like bananas do pretty well, although I can’t say I’ve ever seen a “tree-ripened” banana.

But the other stuff I buy at the grocery sure seems to fare badly when I try to let it ripen.

Peaches tend to go all mealy (and apples, too). Strawberries are the worst – going from hard and tasteless to mushy and rotten by the time I turn around.

Are mass-marketed fruits (and veggies that are really fruits, like tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc.) just picked so early that they can’t ripen properly? Or are they stored in conditions that “kill” them so they can’t ripen? Or is there a secret way to ripen them that will result in that tree-ripened taste?

(And how do tree-ripened bananas compare with store-ripened?)

[Hyperelastic]

@LivingInThePast

Are mass-marketed fruits (and veggies that are really fruits, like tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc.) just picked so early that they can’t ripen properly? Or are they stored in conditions that “kill” them so they can’t ripen? Or is there a secret way to ripen them that will result in that tree-ripened taste?

Tomatoes should ripen just fine. You have to store them at room temperature in a paper bag (or no bag), never in those poly bags the store gives you.

[Cillasi]

@Hyperelastic

Tomatoes should ripen just fine. You have to store them at room temperature in a paper bag (or no bag), never in those poly bags the store gives you.

Fruits, like pears, peaches, nectarines and plums do good in a brown paper bag put in a dark closet or drawer for a couple days. Soft fruits are harvested early so that they don’t become bruised during processing and so they make it to market before they become overripe.

You can usually get riper fruit at small greengrocers rather than at large supermarkets. That’s because these small retailers usually buy produce that is “too old” for supermarkets to buy and the merchandise may be on the shelves longer.

[jayjay]

Pears will actually go mealy on the tree if allowed to fully ripen.

Tomatoes will ripen (and most commercial tomatoes do) off the vine, but since there is no additional input of sugar once they’re removed from the plant, they tend to be rather tasteless when compared to actual vine-ripened tomatoes.

I’ve found that most store-bought nectarines and peaches have to be ripened further before they’re really edible. I’ve never had tree-ripened examples of either of these to be able to compare, though.

[MaryEFoo]

Try buying from a Farmer’s Market if they have them in your area; it’s your best bet other than knowing the person who owns the trees.

[Vision_of_Love]

Mangoes, definitely. We almost never eat them right after buying them. We have to let them sit for a couple of days.

[DrMemory]

Avocados, Papayas and Piecosts

[yabob]

I’ve never actually had a “tree ripened” banana[sup]1[/sup], but most sources claim that they aren’t very good:

“Tree-ripened” would not make good advertising for bananas. If allowed to ripen on the plant they are starchy, mealy, or rotten and therefore inedible. They are sent to market green and are ripened in air-tight rooms with controlled humidity and temperature. These conditions permit nearly all of the starch to be converted into sugar for good taste.

[sup]1[/sup] - strictly speaking, neither has anybody else. The banana plant is not a tree, it is a large perennial herb. What looks like a trunk is actually a tightly rolled leaf cluster.

[jayjay]

@DrMemory

Avocados, Papayas and Piecosts

Oh, I prefer henweighs myself.

[GilaB]

Pineapples, citrus fruits, apples, and berries, just to name a few things I buy pretty regularly, don’t ripen after you pick them. Refrigerate them right away, and eat them ASAP.

Pears, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, melons, avocadoes, and mangoes, for another non-exhaustive list, will ripen. Nearly all of these will be underripe when you buy them in a supermarket, so you pretty much have to ripen them by the methods mentioned above. I don’t use a paper bag unless I want to hurry something - you can leave them in a bowl on a counter away from strong heat and direct sunlight, and pay attention - different things will ripen at different rates.

Don’t leave fruit in the plastic bags you buy them in, ever.

And never refrigerate a tomato. Ever. Or I’ll need to call in the Produce Police.