Ripening device to accelerate the ripening process on the example of the avocado

Supermarkets and fruit handlers often sell fruit that isn’t ripe. One reason for this is that ripe fruit rots in the fruit section before it can be sold. UNIVEG, a major importer in Vienna, subsequently fumigates approximately 27,000 cartons of bananas per week with ethylene to bring them from an unripe to a half-ripe state. According to Mr. Kilp from UNIVEG Vienna, avocados are not post-ripened in Austria. This happens, when at all, at “Bakker Barendrecht” in the Netherlands. Hence, customers are often offered fruit that isn’t ripe enough for their purposes or ready for consumption. Above all, the avocado often takes very long to reach its final stage of maturity. For this reason the avocado has been chosen as the object of research.

 

Objective of the research: As the ripening gas accelerates fruit ripening and improves the fruit’s flavour at room temperature, it is desirable to keep the gas in a chamber together with the fruit that should ripen. When the chamber is appropriately ventilated, the fruit will continue to ripen, which in turn produces more ripening gas and results in a positive feedback loop. There are already a variety of fruit containers on the market, which could create such a climate. The experiment aims to accelerate this ripening process with an additional supply of ethylene from outside.

 

The intention is for a container with a screw cap in which the fruit would be placed. The gas flows into the container with the fruit through a valve – like the one already in use with iSi bottles (NO2 for whipped cream) – and thus accelerates the ripening process. The following results are desired:

 

 ripening within 24-48 hours
 full development of the typical flavour and consistency
 simple and safe handling in households.