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Okay, I know the title is a little ridiculous, but I swear I am not making this up. When I was a kid, my parents bought a lot of rice and a lot of bananas (among other things). They would get the big 25# sacks of rice, which seem to be made of several layers of kraft paper, and put them in a cabinet.

When they bought bananas that were a little too green to eat, they would put whole bunches into the rice sack for a day or two. Does that actually make any difference for ripening? If so, is it because of the rice? The paper bag? The cool, dry, dark environment in the cabinet? Something else entirely?

This question looks related, but I don't know if the extra conditions I've noted make a difference beyond what was noted in the answer there: Why does a brown paper bag speed ripening?

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Pops
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  • It's not just related; it's essentially identical. Every answer to that question applies here. – hobodave Jul 22 '10 at 20:52
  • possible duplicate of [Why does a brown paper bag speed ripening?](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/109/why-does-a-brown-paper-bag-speed-ripening) – hobodave Jul 22 '10 at 20:52
  • Same reasons. The porous material (Kraft paper) and shape of the bag are the important characteristics. – Aaronut Jul 22 '10 at 21:05
  • @hobo, I figured as much, but I wondered if the presence of the rice or the environment also had an effect that was not discussed in the other question. – Pops Jul 22 '10 at 21:07
  • I can't imagine it would have much significant effect. It's simply ethylene gas that causes the ripening. – hobodave Jul 22 '10 at 21:09
  • I think we need to get bananas, rice sacks and brown paper bags and test it. – Joe Jul 22 '10 at 23:44
  • @LordTorgamus: Brown paper bags are made of Kraft paper, the same thing your rice bags are made of. Your parents probably used those for the same reason most people used brown paper bags...they are items that people commonly had around the house that served the purpose of concentrating the ethylene gas and yet were porous enough not to trap moisture from the respiration process. – Darin Sehnert Jul 23 '10 at 00:53

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Yeah, I would agree with the people in the comments, and make the assumption that it had to do with concentrating the ethylene gas from the bananas.

After a bit of googling, it looks like the rice bag trick might be popular because it apparently results in a nearly ideal, stable environment for ripening.

I imagine that the rice would keep the moisture level at a lower point, the bag would contain the gas, and the mass of the rice would decrease the temperature variants (assuming that is conducive to ripening)

I found an informative article which mentioned rice bags here: http://monsterguide.net/how-to-ripen-bananas-quickly

dbonomo
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The basic idea is - banana ripens fast due to ethylene secretion. As it ripens (and subsequently starts rotting really fast), it secretes ethylene, which not only fastens the ripening process but also leads to ripening of any other fruit kept close to the banana.

Placing bananas in bunches or in an enclosed environment like a sack means consolidation, which means more ethylene emitted in one area and faster ripening. Try placing a raw fruit near a banana which is ripening and see the magic :)

Utsav T
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