I've started in the kitchen, employing every tip and trick out there for making food -- especially fresh produce -- last long enough to be used up. I'm tired of my garbage disposer being the best-fed member of the family.

A recent tip from a reader, who said the best way to ripen a banana is to stick it into a paper bag with an apple, reminded me of a gas called ethylene. I know, that is an odd association, but you're about to understand why this is so important.

Most fruits and vegetables generate ethylene while they ripen. This gas is a very active plant hormone. I've learned the hard way that when I am not organized, good old ethylene can ruin the vegetables, turn the bananas black, and jack up my food bill in a big hurry.

Leafy vegetables -- even very small amounts -- are very sensitive to ethylene. Lettuce, for example, begins to decay when exposed to ethylene, even in the refrigerator. Items particularly sensitive to ethylene, such as broccoli and bananas, will spoil quickly if they are stored in the same area as avocados, melons and apples, which are ethylene producers.

That means we need to keep our vegetables away from the fruits to make our fresh foods last longer. This may explain why your refrigerator has two crisper drawers.

These foods create ethylene: apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, blueberries, cantaloupes, citrus fruits (except grapefruits), cranberries, figs, guavas, grapes, green onions, honeydews, ripe kiwi fruit, mangoes, mushrooms, nectarines, okra, papayas, passion fruits, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapples, plantains, plums, prunes, quinces, tomatoes and watermelons.

These foods become damaged by ethylene: asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cucumbers, cut flowers, eggplants, endives, escaroles, florist greens, green beans, kale, kiwi fruit, leafy greens, lettuce, parsley, peas, potatoes, potted plants, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress and yams.

Of course, you can use ethylene to your favor.

Try this: Place an unripe avocado in a plastic or paper bag by itself, and it will ripen much more quickly because the ethylene is trapped inside and becomes concentrated.

Ditto for bananas. Because they produce ethylene, they can be manipulated to ripen themselves more quickly inside a bag than if they're left out in the open air. And remember to add an apple to the bag when you're in a big hurry because apples are big-time ethylene producers!

Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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