One day when i brought home a case of pretty unripe bananas, I acidentally sat on a green banana. I didnt throw it away, I just left it in the kitchen overnight. When I the next day was preparing breakfast I opened the banana and to my surprise the bananameat was REALLY ripe.
So what I was wondering about is if one really needs to wait a week for green bananas to ripen or if one can just squeeze the bananas the night before and consume them the next day or does the banana need to go through the slow process of ripening so one can reap the benefits of some nutrient that needs to go through the slow process?
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I have sped up the ripening process by storing bananas as a bunch in a plastic bag for a day. They have always turned out sweet tasting but depending on the bunch it may take more or less time.
I am not sure I agree with Westons theory.
The ripening is not a 'magic' process that only is affected by temperature and humidity.
The ripening is actually a chemical process, a breakdown of the starch inside the fruit by the way of other chemical stuff also inside the fruit. The temperature etc only regulates this process, just like in all other chemical processes.
When the internal structure of the banana is preserved, that chemical process is slowed down because of low surface area between the molecules that break down the starch and the starch. There is more chemical 'resistance' inside the fruit.
So when you squeeze the fruit, you increase the surface area, by breaking down the structures that partially separates the molecules from each others. And thus, I can imagine you speed up the ripening. But you also speed up the oxidation, at least unless you preserve the skin integrity of the banana.
If the banana taste sweet/ripe and not starchy, then your experiment is a success. Can't argue against that.
Bruising and ripening may very well be an overlapping process. When we bruise a banana, we often think of the brown after effects. But if you let a banana ripen and ripen, won't it become brown then too....?
I think the acids inside a fruit is at least partially the cause of the fruit ripening process. Why? Because, before a fruit is ripe, it is starchy and acidic. After, it is sweet and non-acidic. Where did the acid go? Into the starch, breaking it down. The ethylene gas is a part of this process too. It is probably a multifaceted process, like most processes in nature are.
So thanks for the tip! I will try it out. Just squeezing the enough to speed the conversion between starch and acid, and sugars. But not too much, so it over ripens. Interesting experiment. If my theory holds true.
They become very sweet :) so i guess it works then. Thank god! Im really tired of the strong banana smell you get from having bananas all over the kitchen sloooooowly ripening.
I hope this tip helps other fruitbats :D
Cool! Thank you Nico.
Another benefit of this, except the one of very fast ripening and no smell, is potential better preservation of the vitality of our food. Not bad :)
And if your digesting those ultrafast ripened bananas equally well as any other, then that is another confirmation that this works.
The bananas digest very well :) W