Bananas make other fruits spoil more quickly?

[Silkenray]

Hey. One of my co-workers brought up that keeping bananas in your fruit basket with other fruits will make the other fruits go off faster. I have no idea what would make this the case, and consider it implausible... does anyone have any light to shed on this pressing issue?

Silk "it's not an appealing thought" enray

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Silkenray

Hey. One of my co-workers brought up that keeping bananas in your fruit basket with other fruits will make the other fruits go off faster. I have no idea what would make this the case, and consider it implausible... does anyone have any light to shed on this pressing issue?

Silk "it's not an appealing thought" enray

I can't find a cite, but I've heard that the bananas emit a gas as they ripen which can cause other fruits nearby to go ripe quicker. Hence the hanging "banana tree" attachments to some fruit bowls. Alternatively, you could put the bananas in a different fruit bowl.

[Scout]

According to this site, (and various others on Google) the cuplrit is ethylene, which is released by the bananas as they ripen, and will cause other fruit to ripen:

from the linked page....

Beyond this, ripeness is the key consideration when buying and using bananas; few fruits change so swiftly once you get them home. Some people like their bananas with the skins yellow-green and the fruit firm; others prefer theirs black, when the fruit is at its mushy sweetest. Regardless, it's best to buy an underripe bunch, or by the time you get to eat the last one, it will be too soft. Bananas release a gas, ethylene, that is vital in their ripening process. You can make a bunch ripen more quickly by putting it in a plastic bag to trap the ethylene. This odourless gas is also useful in ripening other fruits: put hard avocados, pears or peaches in a paper bag with a banana for a day or so and the gas will stimulate ripening. Conversely, keep bananas separate from other fruits if you don't want them to soften further.

Scout.

I just got a fruit basket as a gift, and I noticed the same thing. Thanks for the link, Scout.

By the way, do you know if apples have anything to do with the discoloration too?

[iskinner]

Originally Posted by mikex1337

By the way, do you know if apples have anything to do with the discoloration too?

IIRC, Apples are also good source of the etheline(sp?) gas.

[Pseudo_Croat]

Originally Posted by iskinner

IIRC, Apples are also good source of the etheline(sp?) gas.

True, hence the adage, "One bad apple spoils the whole barrel".

- Pseudo (no bad apples here) Croat

[bjohn13]

Originally Posted by Pseudo_Croat

True, hence the adage, "One bad apple spoils the whole barrel".

Interesting...I always interpreted this saying quite differently.