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Do bananas really ripen faster left in a plastic bag?

Updated: 8/11/2023
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AdamDevarius

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10y ago

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As a banana ripens, it gives off ethylene gas. This gas is instrumental in the ripening process. In fact, it is this same gas that is used by banana importers to accelerate banana ripening once the bananas are ready to go to market. By placing bananas in a paper bag, you are concentrating the gas that is emitted from the fruit. As the concentration increases and the ripening process accelerates, more gas is emitted faster. Essentially, you have a chain reaction taking place -- more ripening means more gas, which means more ripening, and so forth.

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13y ago
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13y ago

Yes, bananas will ripen faster in a paper bag if it is left in a warm environment. As a banana ripens, it emits ethylene gas. Ethylene gas is essential in the ripening process. If you put bananas in a paper bag, this gas will concentrate. As the concentration increases, the ripening process increases. As the ripening process increases, the amount of gas given off increases. Essentially, you have a chain reaction in process. If you place the bag in a cold environment, such as a refrigerator, the ripening process will be irreversibly stopped. This does not mean it is unwise to put them in refrigerators. A refrigerator is great place to store bananas once they have completely ripened to the desired stage of ripeness.

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13y ago

As a banana ripens, it produces ethylene gas. Ethylene gas accelerates the ripening process. Therefore, if you place bananas in an enclosed space, the concentration of ethylene gas will increase greater and faster than if left in open spaces where moving air will disperse some of the gas.

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13y ago

Just the opposite. Putting fruit in a bag concentrates the ethylene gas released by the fruit, causing them to ripen faster. To slow ripening of bananas, separate them and place them in an area with good ventilation.

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10y ago

Yes, bananas really ripen faster if they are left in a plastic bag along with an apple, pear or tomato. These fruits emit ethylene gas which will help accelerate the ripening process. It typically takes around 24 hours to ripen bananas this way.

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Q: Do bananas really ripen faster left in a plastic bag?
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Related questions

Do bananas ripen faster in a plastic bag or do they ripen faster when not in a plastic bag?

Bananas ripen quickly on their own as they're one of the few fruits that release ethene. Keeping them together in a plastic bag should make them ripen. Keep them away from other fruit that you don't want to go off, and if you want avocados to ripen put them in a brown paper bag with bananas in an airing cupboard.


How do you ripen bananas faster?

Putting them in a plastic (or even paper) bag in a warm spot will help them to ripen faster.


How does a banana ripener ripen bananas?

The warmer it is , the faster they ripen


Why did the green bananas placed in the plastic bag ripen more slowly than the other bananas?

the bags are semipermeable and allow the release of ethylene gas, which is know to cause surrounding fruit the ripen faster. One bad apple...


Bananas rot faster?

I am pretty sure bananas will ripen and/ or rot faster if they are contained in something such as a brown bag.


Do bananas ripen faster intact in a bunch or separated?

They emit ethylene gas which signals the other bananas to ripen. When they're separated they get less exposure. If instead you want to make them ripen more quickly, put them in a plastic bag together, or with a banana that's already ripe.


Is a banana really yellow?

Bananas are green until they ripen. Then they are yellow.


Why does a green banana and an apple ripens faster?

All fruit produce ethylene gas in order to ripen, so by keeping your apples and bananas together in the open you are speeding up the ripening process. Bananas ripen faster than apples, which is why they spoil first.


Can bananas make other fruit ripen faster?

They can if -the bananas are already ripe, andthe bananas are placed in the immediate vicinity to the other fruit (such as in a fruit bowl)This is because bananas give off ethylene gas which makes fruit ripen faster.Some companies that artificially grow fruit use ethylene gas to ripen their fruit faster (although this gas is concentrated, not from growing bananas with other fruit)


Why does an over-ripen banana in your fruit basket cause the other fruits to begin to spoil?

As bananas ripen they give off a gas that causes other fruit near them to ripen faster and then spoil.


What rots faster apple banana strawberry or pear?

Of the fruits mentioned, bananas ripen and decay the fastest.


Which will ripen a banana faster a plastic bag or the refrigerator?

Having the banana in a plastic bag at room temperature will ripen it sooner than placing it in the refrigerator.