Ask Evan: What is the Best Way to Ripen Fruit?

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Every week I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question to goodfood@kcrw.com, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s came from Margaret:

What is the Best Way to Ripen Fruit?

You can leave fruit out on your countertop and let it ripen or if you’re in a hurry or if the fruit is rock hard use the banana in a bag trick.  Bananas and apples emit ethylene, a naturally occuring gas that triggers ripening.  So if you put a ripe banana or an apple in a paper bag along with your unripe fruit and close the bag the fruit will ripen within a 48 hour window.