Exploring Banana Ripening Process

 

Bananas undergo a complex physiological and biochemical process while ripening which is catalyzed by the ethylene hormone. When a banana is in its ripening phase, its color changes from green to yellow, its texture from hard to soft, and its flavor from starchy to sweet.

Enzymes called amylases break down starches in the banana into sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose, giving ripe bananas their sweet taste.

Harvesting Stage: When is it Ideal to Harvest Banana?

At this stage, bananas are firm, starchy, and have little aroma or sweetness.

The ideal time to harvest bananas is when they are green, as this helps delay ripening and extend shelf life for a long time during shipping and storage.

If you harvest them after ripening has already begun, you can inhibit ethylene production under temperature-controlled conditions. However, they might still reach peak ripeness relatively earlier.

Climacteric Rise (Initiation of ripening)

Climacteric phase of bananas begins with a sudden increase in respiration rate and ethylene production, which initiates a series of physiological changes.

Though this ripening process is natural, it can be induced through artificial ethylene exposure. It is very important to control the climacteric phase of fruits from the commercial point of view.

Ripening Stages of Banana

1. Completely green banana: It is very firm, starchy, and of course, not sweet at all.

2. Green with some yellow traces: It is relatively less firm, which is basically the beginning of sugar formation.

3. More green than yellow: It may taste sweeter but it is still starchy.

4. More yellow than green: It is 50:50 now - both sugar and starch are balanced. It is softer.

5. Fully yellow: Peak flavour and texture.

6. Yellow with brown spots: These bananas are very sweet and soft.

7. Mostly brown and black: These are overripe bananas, mostly suitable for baking or smoothies.

How Do You Control Ripening?

To delay ripening, it is recommended to store bananas in cool temperatures, but not in the fridge in their unripe state, as the cold can damage tissues.

Also, store them separately from other ethylene-producing fruits. For example, apples or tomatoes can induce early production of ethylene in bananas if they are stored together.

On the other hand, if you want to speed up ripening, enclose your bananas in a paper bag with apples or tomatoes; they will help accelerate the process. And if you want to manage bananas on a large scale, you can store them in ethylene gas chambers to control the ripening process.

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