How Do You Ripen Nectarines? Are Nectarines Like Peaches?

Reader Question: Hi! I bought a flat of nectarines that are not ripe yet. Do they go into a paper bag as well?

Thanks

Andrew's Answer:

Nectarines will ripen on their own at room temperature, but you can speed that process up by placing them in a paper bag.

The key is the ethylene gas many types of fruit produce while ripening. That gas is caught (to some degree) by the bag, bathing the unripe fruit in the ethylene and increasing the ripening speed.

Because ripe fruit produces more ethylene than unripe fruit, you can also try adding a fully ripened-fruit, like a banana, in with the unripe nectarines to speed things up.

Following Up:

Learn how to buy fruit in bulk so you don't go broke here.

Figure out how to ripen different kinds of fruit.

Start a healthy raw food diet.