ELI5-What cause some fruits and vegetables to continue to ripen once picked but other do not?
In: Biology
It may have something to do with the enzymes and nutrients that the tree is transferring to the fruit.
So if a fruit is receiving nutrients to continue to grow until it reaches a ripened state but is picked too soon, then it may stop.
Conversely, some fruits do not ripen until they are picked. I believe avocados are an example of this. While on the tree there are enzymes produced that essentially prevent it from ripening. Yet once it’s picked all that goes away.
It’s also important to point out what ripening means in this context. When is a banana or a lemon actually ripe? Once picked I would assume that the “ripening” that is happening is actually just the fruit rotting. In the case of bananas and some other fruits, this process of rotting makes it sweeter and softer, which is why yellow bananas are sweeter than green bananas.
So it may have something to do with how we define ripe for each fruit/vegetable. It may also depend somewhat on what the fruit/vegetable can withstand. So like if you put a banana in the fridge it will ripen(rot) slower than if you left it on the counter.
Definitely not a biologist here so I’d appreciate if someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but that is my best assumption.
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