# Which Lamp to Ripen an Avocado? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628 "2018-03-15T21:18:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![molten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@molten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/molten)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/1 "2018-03-15T21:18:18Z")
Has anyone done this, and what lamps did you use? I want to have more controlled conditions to know when my avocados ripen. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/2 "2018-03-15T21:51:53Z")
I’ve never heard of using lamps. We always put the ones we wanted to ripen faster in paper bags. [It concentrates the ethylene gas.](https://www.californiaavocado.com/blog/how-to-ripen-an-avocado) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/3 "2018-03-15T22:25:16Z")
Put it in a bowl with some apples. Apples release ethylene, which causes other fruit to ripen. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/4 "2018-03-15T23:23:35Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Put it in a bowl with some apples. Apples release ethylene, which causes other fruit to ripen. … Or in a paper bag with them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/5 "2018-03-15T23:28:31Z")
Don’t waste an apple, put a banana peel in the paper bag, just as effective. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/6 "2018-03-16T15:13:27Z")
> [@molten](#): > > Has anyone done this, and what lamps did you use? > > I want to have more controlled conditions to know when my avocados ripen. A magic lamp? “Genie, for my first wish I want these avocados perfectly ripened immediately.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/7 "2018-03-16T17:22:23Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Don’t waste an apple, put a banana peel in the paper bag, just as effective. How is the apple wasted? You can still eat it after. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/8 "2018-03-16T18:23:21Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > “Genie, for my first wish I want these avocados perfectly ripened immediately.” What a waste of a wish. You should wish for an apple. Then you can ripen the avocados and have an apple to eat at the end. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/9 "2018-03-16T18:57:08Z")
Avocados can be so frustrating. Squeeze - not yet … not yet … not yet … - ah! … too late. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/10 "2018-03-16T19:23:16Z")
I eat three or four avocados per week, and only 60% of them are really good. Around 30% of them are a little under-ripe, around 10% of the time they get over-ripe, and the remaining 60% are ripe. Still, I like avocados enough that 6 out of ten good avocados is pretty good odds. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/11 "2018-03-16T23:38:01Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > How is the apple wasted? You can still eat it after. Sorry I like my apples cool, fresh and crisp. I could couldn’t eat a 3 day old apple that has been sitting in a bag unrefrigerated. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/12 "2018-03-17T00:12:57Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Sorry I like my apples cool, fresh and crisp. I could couldn’t eat a 3 day old apple that has been sitting in a bag unrefrigerated. See, I keep all my apples in a big bowl on the table. If I want to ripen an avocado or some bananas, I just put them on top of the bowl. No bags required. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/13 "2018-03-17T00:40:54Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Sorry I like my apples cool, fresh and crisp. I could couldn’t eat a 3 day old apple that has been sitting in a bag unrefrigerated. Who said anything about unrefrigerated? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/14 "2018-03-17T01:37:34Z")
I just bought a couple of avocados on the edge of ripeness, and put them in the fridge. Now I’m all worried they’ll be too hard or too soft when I cut into them (sort of like Goldilock’s bed). :(:eek::smack: Actually I’ve done fine just leaving the hard ones in a bowl near the fridge until they soften enough to clearly be ripe. I never found it necessary to make them share a bag with lesser fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/15 "2018-03-17T03:38:14Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Who said anything about unrefrigerated? Refrigeration slows down the release of ethylene, so if you are using an apple to ripen your avocado, keep them out of the frig. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/16 "2018-03-17T12:50:37Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I just bought a couple of avocados on the edge of ripeness, and put them in the fridge. Now I’m all worried they’ll be too hard or too soft when I cut into them (sort of like Goldilock’s bed). :(:eek::smack: > > Actually I’ve done fine just leaving the hard ones in a bowl near the fridge until they soften enough to clearly be ripe. I never found it necessary to make them share a bag with lesser fruit. > [@Mangosteen](#): > > Refrigeration slows down the release of ethylene, so if you are using an apple to ripen your avocado, keep them out of the frig. ^^ truth in these. But really, the best way to ensure you have perfectly ripe avocados is to leave them on the counter until they’re at the perfect ripeness, then throw them in the fridge. They’ll keep for almost a week at that perfect ripe stage once they’re in the fridge, but as others have pointed out - they don’t ripen in the fridge. So you gotta get 'em perfect before fridging. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-lamp-to-ripen-an-avocado/810628/17 "2018-03-19T18:56:19Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I eat three or four avocados per week, and only 60% of them are really good. Around 30% of them are a little under-ripe, around 10% of the time they get over-ripe, and the remaining 60% are ripe. Still, I like avocados enough that 6 out of ten good avocados is pretty good odds. Sigh. When I was in high school, we had more than a dozen avocado trees in the yard. Some days I really miss that. We could toss the over-ripe ones and got pretty good at judging when they were ripe. Fun fact - they don’t start to ripen until you pick them, so we’d harvest them in small batches.