Use an Apple to Ripen Fruits and Vegetables

You may have heard how placing an apple in a brown paper bag with bananas will help ripen them faster but did you know it works on other fruits and vegetables also? Warm the fruit to be ripened just slightly by setting it in the sunlight first and then place it in the bag with an apple. Just close the bag loosely so the ethylene gas stays in but so that oxygen can also get in. Note that ripened bananas also give off ethylene gas that will speed ripening of other food and can be used in the same manner as the apple for speeding up the ripening process. Some of the fruits and vegetables you can speed the ripening process on are bananas, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, kiwi, avocados, and tomatoes. Keep in mind that along with speeding up the ripening process, apples and bananas can also cause fruits and vegetables to over ripen too quickly if stored together. Once the fruit or vegetable has ripened be sure to store it away from the apples or bananas. Most should be stored in the refrigerator once they are ripe to help prevent them from ripening too quickly.