extremely O/T pumpkins

[Evan]

We have been eating home grown tomatoes all summer which was a treat. They love hot weather and we sure had plenty of that. We have one last bowl of them to eat and that's it. It froze hard last night for the first time, the latest first frost I can recall. Just a few days ago we hit nearly 90f in the shade.

[rdfeil]

Hi All,

I work closely with the fruit industry in Central Washington and Evan is exactly right about Ethylene and ripening. We actually have ethylene scrubbers to keep the fruit longer as well as the normal cooling and controlled atmosphere storage conditions. Pears are actually ripened by increasing the storage temperature to about 50 deg. F. and injecting Ethylene gas into the storage room. I don't remember the concentration but it really is not much and a green pear will ripen in 3 to 4 days that way. As for your pumpkins, I know nothing about them except that I like the pie they make , but if they will ripen this way bananas are the best natural source of Ethylene. Just but the pumpkins in a fairly air tight container, bag whatever and add several bunches of greenish bananas. Seal up, keep moderate temp (basements are great) and wait till ripe. I have no idea how to tell when a pumpkin is ripe... You are on your own there.

Robin

The bananas give off the ethylene as they ripen so ripe bananas are much less effective than greenish ones.

[darryl]

Besides all this good advice, there's probably a lesson here- don't eat green bananas-

[Your Old Dog]

A pet peeve of mine is being able to get fruit at the market that is ready to eat. This green banana trick just might be the ticket for plums, peaches and strawberrys for me Thanks for weighing in Robin.

[Evan]

What really ticks me off is strawberries here. In the Vancouver area they grow some of the best strawberries anywhere and they are fully ripened on the plants for local distribution in that market. Here in Williams Lake we only get half green berries from California or Mexico. I asked the produce manager and he said that it was too expensive in losses to bring the berries in from Vancouver. What? A 7 hour drive on the delivery truck overnight? How does that differ from a 1 hour drive on the same truck to the local stores in Vancouver? It can't be more expensive than trucking or flying them from California.

[A.K. Boomer]

Besides all this good advice, there's probably a lesson here- don't eat green bananas-

Actually you can use green banana's as a antacid --- green banana's are high on the alkali scale so when eaten with a meal (or shortly after) that you know is going to give you heartburn it can counteract an acid attack,
Not so with a fully ripe bwandanna, it goes from alkali to acidic.

[Evan]

Another thing to remember is that bananas have no sharp edges and taste the same coming up as going down. (flu season approaches )

[HSS]

I wish I could eat bananas, but I can't pass the seeds.

[davidh]

i seem to remember something about "thumping" them and they are ripe when they sound hollow ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ?

Hi All,

I have no idea how to tell when a pumpkin is ripe... You are on your own there.

Robin

The bananas give off the ethylene as they ripen so ripe bananas are much less effective than greenish ones.

[Evan]

Here is a banana trick you can do that will astound and amaze your family and friends. You need a banana that is just barely yellow but not green and definitely not overripe. Grab it with both hands and with a very positive and severe motion snap it in half by giving it a sudden sharp bend in the middle. It will snap almost as clean as a knife cut, peel and all. This works great with kids when you want to give each kid a half banana.

I am not scamming you, promise. It really works but you must not hesitate when you do it. It's like karate, your mind must be free of distractions and concentrate only on the movements of your hands.... breathe deeply several times, exhale slowly..... HIIII----YAHH!!