Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: neilep on 22/09/2008 22:24:18

Title: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: neilep on 22/09/2008 22:24:18
Dearest Bannanholics,

As a sheepy, I am of course an aficionado of all thing banana !!..I love them !..it's obvious isn't it ?

Woolly Sheep That Lives On A Hill & Likes To Hump Ewe = Banana Eater....see ?...blatant !!

Look here's some rather unripe banana goodness !!

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The reason behind this question is that I bought a bunch and two of the bananas failed to ripen !...another week went by and they were still green with envy !!

I was going to take a proper photo for ewe all but wifey decided to chuck em !!..I was so enraged by this I emptied the contents of our cat litter tray down my neighbours chimney at 3am this morning...and...well...whilst I was up there I humped his chimney and it fell through his roof destroying his lounge and conservatory !!.....sheesh !..I can't see why he's upset !.....Insurance covers priceless art collections doesn't it ?...as a treat, I sent him some sellatape to put his vases back together !!....honestly, ewe'd think he'd be grateful !!

Anyway, (and I wish ewe'd allow me to stop rambling so that I can ask the question !!..shhhsh !!................I said SHHHSH !!!!

Why did two of my banana bunch NOT ripen and remain green ?


Please help !

Thank ewe for your kind consideration in this matter !!

Hugs et les shmisheys


mwah mwah mwah mwah

Neil
Banana Botherer

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: Karen W. on 23/09/2008 00:59:07
perhaps banana''s are treated with that gas that ripens green fruit sooner. and if so perhaps those two banana's were not exposed and are going to take a lot longer to rippen? !ow does that sound? LOL!
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: JnA on 23/09/2008 01:17:05
Bananas are notorious for helping other fruit to ripen. They let off a gas of their own that helps ripen themselves as well as other fruit.

The CSIRO put out a paper on temperature and the ripening of bananas.. here is an extract

Ripening responses of bananas to temperature

LE Rippon and T Trochoulias

Abstract

Experiments with summer grown autumn maturing fruit of Cavendish bananas (cv. Williams) studied skin colour and pulp firmness responses to different ripening and post-ripening temperatures. In 1972 fruit was ripened at 15, 17 and 19¦C and subsequently held at 15, 21 and 27¦C. Times were determined for this fruit to reach colour stages 4, 6 and 8, and the relationships between pulp firmness at colour 6 and times taken to reach this colour were established. This procedure was repeated in another trial in 1973 but the 19¦C ripening temperature was omitted, and times were determined to reach colours 4 to 7 inclusive. The life of fruit after ripening was mainly determined by the temperature at which ripening was commenced. Holding temperatures after ripening had little influence on shelf life. Fruit was adversely affected when ripened at 15 or 17¦C and subsequently removed to temperatures 10¦C or greater above the ripening temperature. Ripening at 17¦C combined relatively fast outturn of fruit with moderate shelf life and pulp firmness."


FTR I think you should have opened one of those green eggs bananas and seen what it was like inside.. or, alternatively, offered them to your neighbours who's house you destroyed.
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: techmind on 23/09/2008 11:52:54
In an experiment I carried out by accident (I put some bananas in the fridge in the summer when I was tidying the kitchen in a hurry), I discovered that bananas which had been fridged for a day or so (at about 10C - warm for a fridge, I know), subsequently failed to ripen properly. They remained a slightly greyey-yellow and didn't seem to progress.

Is it possible that as the weather's got colder, your bananas caught an overnight chill?
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: Bored chemist on 23/09/2008 19:46:34
Part of the reason they didn't ripen might be they were taken off the tree (palm for any pedantic botanists) too soon.
BTW, the gas is ethylene (or ethene if you want the IUPAC name).
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 25/09/2008 18:15:10
Perhaps you bought matoke (cooking bananas) instead of ndizi (eating bananas)  [;D]
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: rosalind dna on 26/09/2008 13:07:37
Neil have you bought the specially grown Green bananas in a
West Indian shop or local market? Even Plantains that are a
sort of potato

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantain
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.tinypic.com%2Frthp43.jpg&hash=db2436ad1a2c22d0bcccf56562c39c2e)

If so then they are only grown for cooking and even in curries etc.
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 26/09/2008 15:47:31
Neil have you bought the specially grown Green bananas in a
West Indian shop or local market? Even Plantains that are a
sort of potato

If so then they are only grown for cooking and even in curries etc.

That's what I said!  [:(!]
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: Don_1 on 26/09/2008 16:15:39
Just a min, I may have the answer, is this a trick question, did you eat them before had a chance to rippen?

You little piggy!
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 26/09/2008 17:06:48
Just a min, I may have the answer, is this a trick question, did you eat them before had a chance to rippen?

You little piggy!

He's not a piggy - he's a sheepie! Do sheepies eat bananas?
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: Don_1 on 26/09/2008 17:40:57
Bah! (pardon the pun) Humbug, sheepies eat humbugs don't they?
Title: Re: Why Did These Bananas Never Ripen ?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 26/09/2008 18:18:59
Bah! (pardon the pun) Humbug, sheepies eat humbugs don't they?

They certainly speak it