Ethylene Producing Foods
Topics:
- Food spoiling too quickly
- Where to store fruits and vegetables?
- What foods are ethylene producing?
- What foods are ethylene sensitive?
- What is ethylene?
Answer:
Some fruits and vegetables will produce ethylene, a gas that initiates the ripening process:
- Ethylene can cause premature ripening in some foods, while in others it can actually cause damage.
- To reduce unnecessary spoilage of your produce, do not store ethylene producing fruits and vegetables with those that are sensitive to it. For an example from the lists below, storing ethylene-producing apples with ethylene-sensitive peppers can cause the peppers to overripen or spoil.
Note that not all fruits and vegetables produce significant amounts of ethylene, nor is all produce sensitive to it.
- Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons, for example, do not produce much ethylene and are relatively hardy to it.
ETHYLENE PRODUCING FOODS:
- Apples
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Ripening bananas
- Cantaloupe
- Cherimoya
- Figs
- Honeydew
- Kiwi fruit
- Mamey sapote
- Mangoes
- Mangosteen
- Nectarine
- Papayas
- Passion fruit
- Peaches
- Pears
- Persimmons
- Plantains
- Plums
- Prunes
- Quince
- Tomatoes
ETHYLENE SENSITIVE FOODS
- Unripe bananas
- Green beans
- Belgian endive
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Chard
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Leafy greens
- Lettuce
- Okra
- Parsley
- Peas
- Peppers
- Spinach
- Squash
- Sweet potatoes
- Watercress
- Watermelon
See also, SubZero Food Preservation Cards.
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