Wanderlust World Wanderlust World From the Garden of Eden to fairy tales, the apple is an iconic image. Apples are used to make pies, jellies, cakes, sauces and beverages, as well as other edible and non-edible products such as potpourri. Though low in vitamins, the apple is sweet, crisp and laden with water when ripe. Eating unripe apples is a common mistake remedied by forced ripening. Unripe apples are sour and can lead to digestive trouble.
Ethylene gas, produced as a plant hormone, causes fruit to ripen. As apples and fruit mature on the tree or bush, the amount of ethylene gas increases, which ages or ripens the fruit. Ripening is hastened by warmer temperatures. As an apple ripens, the mostly starchy content turns into sugar. This sugar is what gives apples their sweet taste.
A sour apple isn’t ripe yet. Ripe, ready-to-eat apples are firm and sweet. The apple will continue to get softer as the apple ripens and ages. Apples will achieve their appropriate color based on their variety. Many apples undergo color changes from green to shades of yellow and then to red or the color the apple is intended to be, such as the yellow of the Golden Delicious or the green of the Granny Smith varieties.
Unripe apples will taste sour because the starch has not turned to sugar yet. Picking or eating an unripe apple deprives the fruit of the time needed to reach its full sweetness and nutritional value. If you’ve already picked unripe apples and you don’t want to force ripening, baking apples with sugar can compensate for the tartness or sourness.
Unripe apples, or any other fruit, can give you an upset stomach and cause gastrointestinal issues such as gas, bloating, belching and flatulence. For some individuals, unripe apples eaten in large quantities may produce diarrhea. Apples contain sorbitol, which is a naturally occurring sugar that is also used as a sweetener. Sorbitol produces gas. Unripe apples are very acidic. The high acid content can aggravate the stomach and intestinal lining. Unabsorbed acid will cause gas. Gas is expelled from the body by belching or flatulence.
It is possible to ripen an apple once picked. Apples will ripen at different rates. Damaged apples will ripen slower or faster than pristine fruit. Store apples at about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (room temperature) or in a warmer location for more rapid ripening. If the apple feels mushy, it has ripened beyond ideal standards, so put it into the refrigerator. Cold temperatures slow the rate of ripening. Some types of apples can be kept in edible condition for months in the refrigerator.