fruit’s general disintegration. But it’s now
clear that ripening is a last, intense phase of
life. As it ripens, the fruit actively prepares
for its end, organizing itself into a feast for
our eye and palate.
Food Words: Ripe, Climacteric
Our word ripe began as an Old English
word meaning “ready for reaping,” and like
reap comes ultimately from an Indo-
European root meaning “to cut.” River,
rope, row, and rigatoni are all relatives.
Climacteric can be traced back to a root
meaning “to lean,” which led to the Greek
climax, “ladder,” then offshoots meaning
“rung” and therefore “a dangerous place,”
and finally climacteric itself, meaning a
critical stage in life — whether a human’s
or a fruit’s.Fruits: Their Potential for Improvement after
Harvest, and Optimal Storage Temperatures