Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
hate about modern farming. They remember it tasting so great, and it doesn't taste like
anything anymore. I honestly think the peach is going to be in that league, too. All of these
factory farmers, they've got an awful lot of facts. They can tell you how many hours of
sunlight a peach needs, and they do everything by the rules. But their fruit doesn't have
any flavor."
By now he's nearly sputtering: "The question I always want to ask them is, `Would you
eat that, Mr. Farmer?' If the answer is no, then why do they think Harry Housewife would?
Why would you want to pay for something that doesn't taste like anything?"
WHEN IT'S OKAY TO BUY UNRIPE FRUIT
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they're shopping for fruit is assuming that
what they see is what they're going to get. Many fruits will improve if you can just leave
them alone for a day or two.
There is a difference between maturity -basically, the development of sugar in a fruit - and
ripening - the many physical changes that involve the softening of the flesh and the devel-
opment of aroma and complex flavor. In most fruits, these two processes run concurrently
and stop at harvest. But with some fruits, the ripening process can continue after the fruit
has been picked, provided that it has attained a sufficient level of maturity.
Generally, these are known as climacteric fruits (and this is one instance where it is im-
portant to remember that avocados and tomatoes are not truly vegetables). To the agricul-
tural scientist, the term "climacteric" refers to the physiological point at which fruits begin
to ripen. (It also refers to humans of menopausal age: those of us who are fully mature but
perhaps not yet fully ripe? And certainly not yet senescent!) Climacteric fruits are those
that will ripen on their own, off the tree. They won't get any sweeter; since the develop-
ment of sugar is an effect of maturity, but their flesh will soften, and they will become
more fragrant and complex in flavor.
Climacteric fruits are a real boon to farmers, who can harvest them when they are
physiologically mature but before they have begun to soften.
Different climacteric fruits will ripen at different rates. Apples are among the most rapid.
As a result, the apple industry has developed a whole host of procedures to delay the pro-
cess. Slightly slower are apricots, avocados, muskmelons, plums, peaches and nectarines.
Bananas and tomatoes ripen even more slowly. There are two keys to ripening climacteric
fruits after harvest. The first is temperature, which should be warm enough to encourage
