Not to be confused with art made from ripening bananas, the Miami Herald recently ran an interesting profile on Pat Foster (right), the director of ripening for Chiquita in Port Everglades, Florida. As the shipments of bananas (400 tons a week) come in, Foster decides how the fruit should be ripened using ethylene, a gas that also occurs naturally as fruit ripens. According to the article, Foster has to consider not only the weather and production patterns in the countries where the bananas are grown, but also the buying habits of the customers to whom they're being shipped. Hispanic customers in some areas by fruit more frequently, so it must be closer to ripe. Other customers might only make it to the store once a week, so they want greener bananas. Foster has apparently been working with bananas for 40 years and has trained other ripeners all over the country. [Photo: Jared Lazarus/Miami Herald]
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