Which fruits ripen after picking?

Some fruit ripens after picking. Some never will.

Avocados, bananas and pears keep ripening after they are picked, so they start on the counter and move to the fridge once ripe. Oranges, grapes and strawberries stop ripening the moment they are picked, so they can go straight into the fridge.

Avocados are the extreme case. They do not soften on the tree at all, only after they are picked, which is why they are usually sold firm.

Where each kind goes

COUNTER FIRST, FRIDGE ONCE RIPE

Avocados, bananas, pears, peaches, plums, mangoes and kiwis. A ripe avocado keeps 3 to 4 more days in the fridge, and a ripe pear 3 to 5.

STRAIGHT TO THE FRIDGE

Oranges and other citrus, grapes, cherries, strawberries and raspberries. They will not get any sweeter on the counter, and an orange keeps up to 3 weeks cold.

THE EXCEPTION

Tomatoes ripen after picking too, but they stay on the counter even once ripe. Cold dulls their flavor.