Vietnam. Brazil. Ecuador. A lot of equatorial places.
The orange color is caused by something happening to the chlorophyll when the temperatures cool. But in the tropics, temps can be fairly steadily warm and don’t trigger that reaction.
I can also say that bananas are quite yellow when ripe, without additives. Have had banana trees in 2 different houses, of 2 different banana varieties.
I think I unintentionally blurred together two separate things.
Citrus can be ripe and still be coloured green. Ethylene is used to make them orange, as they look more appealing to buyers that way.
Green bananas on the other hand are just not ripe. Ethylene is still used here, but to “kickoff” the fruit’s ripening process - in just a few days it becomes yellow and ripe.
There’s many things that release ethylene naturally when ripening, like tomatoes, apple, kiwi, … These need to be kept away from other sensitive produce (lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, …) as they’ll start looking “nasty” and lower their shelf life.
Yes that’s fair. I live away from home now where bananas are always shipped by sea.
My understanding is that they reap the banana still green, stall their ripening (presumably by somehow making the ethylene inert or some other mechanism), then accelerate their ripening upon arrival.
This has the very evident effect of making the bananas last a very few days in between becoming ripe and getting mushy and improper for consumption.
Back home, they last maybe 4-8 weeks at different stages of ripening, from thick and bright yellow skin with a firm and slightly dry and zesty fruit, to a fairly blackened and fragile skin with a very soft and sweet fruit but still not yet mushy and gooey.
It’s common here to eat green bananas, to the point that many locals think that’s how it’s “supposed” to be. I have explained to friends that’s not the case and it has transformed their views of the fruit. It’s quite curious!
Having grown up in Brazil, I can confidently say that most of our oranges are indeed orange. Green is usually the colour of non-ripe ones and you can expect extreme acidity from them.
You would be confidently wrong. They are artificially de-greened with ethylene. In Brazil it doesn’t get cold enough for natural de-greening. Also, having tasted both natural green and de-greened (and naturally de-greened) oranges. Their outer color has no correlation whatsoever to the taste.
Thank you for that. It’s always nice to be “corrected” by a stranger who has no idea what they’re talking about.
Having had both mandarin and orange trees in back gardens in Brazil, I stand by my confidence.
From a link posted elsewhere in this thread:
When they’re expose to temperatures below 55°F (12.7°C) for long enough, the green chlorophyll breaks down and the orange carotenoids surfaces in a process called “degreening.”
Are you confidently suggesting that in Brazil it doesn’t get colder than 12.7°C? I have a land plot on the moon to sell you. Or, if you prefer to be educated instead, I can point you to some lovely mountainous places to visit in Brazil with a chance to see snow and some of the absolute best artisanal chocolate in the world!
Hell when I was a kid I saw snow at ocean level even!
Oranges are green until they are ripe. What tropical place did you see a ripe green orange?
Vietnam. Brazil. Ecuador. A lot of equatorial places.
The orange color is caused by something happening to the chlorophyll when the temperatures cool. But in the tropics, temps can be fairly steadily warm and don’t trigger that reaction.
Huh, TIL. I worked at an orange grove in the subtropics, and knew about the cold snap for other aspects of citrus, I never knew about the peel.
Holy shit!
Crazy!
Apparently oranges and other citrus fruit (and others, like bananas) are “degreened” with ethylene.
Here’s a video with bananas. https://youtu.be/jzjBAAv9nxc
I can also say that bananas are quite yellow when ripe, without additives. Have had banana trees in 2 different houses, of 2 different banana varieties.
I think I unintentionally blurred together two separate things.
Citrus can be ripe and still be coloured green. Ethylene is used to make them orange, as they look more appealing to buyers that way.
Green bananas on the other hand are just not ripe. Ethylene is still used here, but to “kickoff” the fruit’s ripening process - in just a few days it becomes yellow and ripe.
There’s many things that release ethylene naturally when ripening, like tomatoes, apple, kiwi, … These need to be kept away from other sensitive produce (lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, …) as they’ll start looking “nasty” and lower their shelf life.
Yes that’s fair. I live away from home now where bananas are always shipped by sea.
My understanding is that they reap the banana still green, stall their ripening (presumably by somehow making the ethylene inert or some other mechanism), then accelerate their ripening upon arrival.
This has the very evident effect of making the bananas last a very few days in between becoming ripe and getting mushy and improper for consumption.
Back home, they last maybe 4-8 weeks at different stages of ripening, from thick and bright yellow skin with a firm and slightly dry and zesty fruit, to a fairly blackened and fragile skin with a very soft and sweet fruit but still not yet mushy and gooey.
It’s common here to eat green bananas, to the point that many locals think that’s how it’s “supposed” to be. I have explained to friends that’s not the case and it has transformed their views of the fruit. It’s quite curious!
Having grown up in Brazil, I can confidently say that most of our oranges are indeed orange. Green is usually the colour of non-ripe ones and you can expect extreme acidity from them.
You would be confidently wrong. They are artificially de-greened with ethylene. In Brazil it doesn’t get cold enough for natural de-greening. Also, having tasted both natural green and de-greened (and naturally de-greened) oranges. Their outer color has no correlation whatsoever to the taste.
Thank you for that. It’s always nice to be “corrected” by a stranger who has no idea what they’re talking about.
Having had both mandarin and orange trees in back gardens in Brazil, I stand by my confidence.
From a link posted elsewhere in this thread:
Are you confidently suggesting that in Brazil it doesn’t get colder than 12.7°C? I have a land plot on the moon to sell you. Or, if you prefer to be educated instead, I can point you to some lovely mountainous places to visit in Brazil with a chance to see snow and some of the absolute best artisanal chocolate in the world!
Hell when I was a kid I saw snow at ocean level even!
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