What is the enzyme that helps to ripen fruit? What are two examples of fruit that make this enzyme on their own? If you have an unripe avocado and you are having a party in a couple of days, what would you do to ripen the avocado faster? Using what you know about reaction rates, what would you do to slow down the ripening of fruit and vegetables in your home to make them last longer?

Avocados do not ripen on the tree; they ripen or “soften” after they have been harvested. To speed up the avocado ripening process we recommend placing unripe avocados in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana for two to three days until they are ripe.
The plant hormone ethylene, which occurs naturally in fruits like apples and bananas, triggers the ripening process. When combined in a brown paper bag, which helps to trap the ethylene gases produced by these fruits, these gases can cause the fruits to ripen faster together.
Fresh avocados do not ripen on the tree, they ripen or “soften” after they have been harvested. Fresh avocados are unique from some of the other varieties of avocados because they can change from a dark-green color to a deep purplish almost black hue when ripe. Although skin color can help in the initial visual selection of fresh avocados it is not always the best indicator for ripeness. Ripeness is ultimately determined by consistency. Color can sometimes be misleading as avocado “softening” can occur at a varying rate, independent of the color.