Why does refrigeration slow fruit ripening?
When it comes to climate and temp fruit responds in many different ways. There are two main different types of fruits. One type is called climacteric and the other is non- climacteric. Climacteric means that the fruit ripens in an environment that is controlled by air and non-climacteric is the opposite. Ethylene is a main component to climacteric fruits on ripening (pears, bananas, apples, tomatoes for instance) Lets say I place a banana on the counter and a banana inside the refrigerator. The warm air triggers ethylene to increase while the one inside the refrigerator slowly ripens because the cold slows the ethylene process.
