Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Peaches: Will they ripen in a paper bag?

Interest forums / Get Stuffed

My supermarket had peaches on sale for 99 cents a pound, but as I sorted through them I noticed that they were all hard. I bought some anyway, and because I know that some types of unripe fruit will ripen more quickly if placed in a paper bag that is then sealed I put the peaches in a bag and left it on my kitchen counter.

Are peaches among the types of fruit that will ripen if stored this way?

My experience has been-it depends.

If the fruit wasn't picked too green the bag/ethylene gas trick works-if it was picked too soon it rots before ripening.

More and more here we're seeing fruit that was picked too soon-sad.

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Peaches

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I have heard that if you want fruit to ripen store it next to ripe bananas.
Don't know the science involved.

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...if you want fruit to ripen store it next to ripe bananas

I wish I had known! I have some ripe bananas in the kitchen right now.

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If there is science behind it, I bet that ripe bananas emit ethylene.

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Yes Bananas emit ethylene gas but ripen very fast in a paper bag while Apples ripen slowly.

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Heard that bit about placing them near bananas too.

How did it work out?

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I put the peaches in a paper bag on July 1, the day I purchased them. I opened the bag on the 3rd, and noticed that they had a fragrance and "gave" slightly when pressed. I will use them later today as ingredients in a coffee cake. Had I known or suspected that bananas might have accelerated the ripening process, I would have put the bananas in the same bag. Instead, the bananas were on another part of the kitchen counter.

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