Fruit Ripens Faster When Placed in a Paper Bag
You have a lovely pair of avocados on the counter, but they’re not quite ripe yet. If you want them (or most fruits) to ripen faster, place them in a loosely closed paper bag.
As food site Chowhound explained, most fruits give off small amounts of ethylene gas. The reabsorption of this gas leads to physiological changes that we call maturation. By placing the fruit in a paper bag, you trap more ethylene gas, speeding up the ripening process:
Placing the fruit in a loosely sealed paper bag traps the ethylene gas inside and speeds up ripening. However, do not close the bag too tightly or use a plastic bag – if you trap too much moisture, mold can develop. If you really want to ripen quickly, put the apple in a bag along with other fruits – they produce a lot of ethylene gas.
If you don’t have a paper bag handy, you can use almost any container that reduces the amount of air around the fruit without completely covering it – for example, one Reddit user put an avocado in a beer mug . However, do not seal the fruit with something airtight, such as a container. This can trap moisture and cause mold growth.
Why do fruits ripen faster in a paper bag? | Chow Hound