Ripening room
Also known as: ripening chamber, degreening room
Short definitionA room that gets fruit picked firm and green ready for the day of sale. Ethylene, carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity are controlled together; it is used for avocados, mangoes, bananas, kiwifruit, tomatoes and citrus.
Avocados, mangoes, kiwifruit, bananas and tomatoes go on ripening after they leave the plant. They are picked firm so they are not bruised on the road; the last step is taken in a room close to the market. The room gives ethylene, the fruit’s own ripening hormone, in a measured dose, so the batch comes out on the same day in the same colour. Temperature is chosen by product: 15–20 °C for avocados, 18–21 °C for tomatoes, 20–22 °C for mangoes. With citrus only the peel colour changes, not the taste.
In panels and doors it hardly differs from an ordinary cold room; it is the equipment that enlarges the quote. The system both cools and heats, and the controller reads a probe inside the product. Ethylene and carbon dioxide sensors, a fresh-air fan, a humidifier and a gas-tight door are added. The largest item in the load calculation is respiration heat; if it is skipped, the room cannot hold temperature. For batches sold on different days, several small rooms are recommended over one large room. A cheese or sausage maturing room uses no ethylene and is a different design.