Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum Professor invents 'ripeness' sticker

"TUCSON, Ariz. - A University of Arizona professor has invented a sticker that can tell consumers if a fruit or vegetable is ripe. The stickers will be available to growers next year and should make their way to supermarkets within two to three years, said Mark Riley, a UA assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_on_sc/ripe_fruit_sticker_3

Maybe this will stop people from squeezing the fruit. There's nothing worse than a peach with fingermarks.

i hope it works, i never know how to tell if they are ripe.

I usually smell them, though my ability to smell is probably above average. If they smell green I buy and wait for them to ripen. People look at you kind of funny when you sniff a cantaloupe but that's how I tell when they're ripe. If a peach smells green, I resign myself to waiting a few days before eating it. Same with apples. Oranges are an act of faith, they are nearly always ripe when you buy them, even if they have a green blush. I hate making fruit salad because the store fruit is never ripe when you buy it and there's no time to let it ripen. I buy most of my fruit frozen cause then it's packed at full ripeness. Hope that helps.