The Rice Trick For Ripening Fruit Quickly

There are a lot of hacks out there for speeding up the process by which unripe fruits turn deliciously delectable and perfectly ripe. There are also plenty of ideas out there for when you just don't want to wait: Did you know that you can pickle your mangoes before they're ripe? It's a handy trick, for sure, and we love handy tricks. While you may have heard of some quick-ripening hacks that involve putting your bananas in the microwave, we have another one that's a little more hands-off, and it involves a pantry staple that you're almost certain to have on hand.

That, of course, is rice, and the idea is simple. All you need to do is take a container, put your fruits inside, and cover them with uncooked rice. It'll actually speed up the ripening process so much that you'll need to check your fruit a few times a day to make sure they don't over-ripen. If this sounds like it's a hack that's too good to be true, it's not. 

It's based on some pretty neat science, but there is a caveat here. It doesn't work with all fruits, and it works best with those that have a firm outer layer. These fruits include pears and mangos. Keep in mind that this trick is only going to work with a group of fruits that ripen in a very specific way. Let's take a closer look at why.

When some fruits (and vegetables) ripen, they release a gas called ethylene. In many cases, it's released specifically to trigger the fruit's ripening process, and even some things — like cucumbers — that don't produce the gas will be impacted by it. Bananas are a great producer of ethylene, and that's why you often hear that you should put fruit you want to ripen in a bag with a banana. That traps the ethylene gas inside and speeds up the process, and it's the same principle that's at work with the rice. 

The idea behind adding rice to your container is that it absorbs the gas, holding it around the fruit. The more gas that's in closer contact with the fruit, the faster the ripening process.

There are some fruits that this method just won't work with, including those that don't ripen off the vine. Strawberries, cherries, grapes, and oranges, for example, don't continue to ripen when they're picked, and neither does watermelon. That's why it's so important to keep some tips for picking the perfect watermelon in mind when you're shopping. When you pick your watermelon at the store, it's as ripe as it's ever going to get. It's also not recommended that you ripen avocados with rice, as they'll do best with the combination of ethylene, humidity, and time. While you can speed up some things, for others, you'll just have to practice patience.