Thread: how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
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Old 04-11-2003, 11:32 PM
Ross Reid
 
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Default how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
(Doctoroe) wrote:

Just bought some bright red tomatoes at the grocery, since we are out
of the fresh ones. These are hard as can be. Obviously they are
green. How do they make em red when they are obviously not ripe? The
first one we tried had about as much taste as sawdust. Now have the
other two sitting in the window sill, but they are still hard as
softballs.

Commercially, many tomatoes are artificially ripened by the external
application of ethylene gas. In mature green fruit ripened by this
method there is basically no difference between naturally ripened and
artificially ripened fruit. However, immature tomatoes ripened by
exposure to externally applied ethylene will never develop comparable
eating quality. Although they will be red, they will remain relatively
hard and almost tasteless.

Ross

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