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Climacteric fruits ripen after harvesting and so some fruits for market are picked green (e.g. bananas and tomatoes). Underripe fruits are also fibrous, not as juicy, and have tougher outer flesh than ripe fruits (see Mouth feel). Eating unripe fruit can lead to stomachache or stomach cramps, and ripeness affects the palatability of fruit.
Non-climacteric fruits ripen without ethylene and respiration bursts, the ripening process is slower, and for the most part they will not be able to ripen if the fruit is not attached to the parent plant. [3] Examples of climacteric fruits include apples, bananas, melons, apricots, tomatoes, as well as most stone fruits.
In the oven: about 15-30 minutes to ripen This method is great to ripen bananas for recipes because heat brings out the fruit’s sugar. Bananas cannot be overly green when using this method.
In February, March, April and May, small white flowers blossom, 8–10 millimeters (5 ⁄ 16 – 3 ⁄ 8 inch) wide, along with red plums, up to 25 mm (1 in) long. The flowers have five white petals with reddish or orange anthers. The plums are cherry-like and tend to be quite tart until they fully ripen. [8] They ripen in late summer.
The fruit is a drupe, with a firm and juicy flesh. China is the largest producer of plums, followed by Romania and Serbia. Japanese or Chinese plums dominate the fresh fruit market, while European plums are also common in some regions. Plums can be eaten fresh, dried to make prunes, used in jams, or fermented into wine and distilled into brandy.
It may be somewhat thorny, with white blossom, borne in early spring. The oval or spherical fruit varies in size, but can be up to 8 centimetres (3 inches) across. The pulp is usually sweet, [3] but some varieties are sour. Like all Prunus fruits, it contains a single large seed, usually called a stone, which is discarded when eating.
A fungus in the genus Taphrina often attacks the plums; the young ovaries swell, often much larger than full grown plums, become hollow and often persist on the tree in winter. Known as "plum pockets", they appear pale green, leathery to the touch, and hollow with the exception of a few fibrous bands. The disease reduces regeneration of the plums.