My sister bought 'ungassed bananas' last week at Freshco. They aren't ripening. They stay perfectly green unendingly. They will stay that way until the end.
Most bananas and some other fruits are artificially chemically ripened using ethylene gas. Bananas naturally produce ethylene gas, which causes the fruit to ripen on its own. It ripens bananas at the right time for the market. It has been found not harmful or toxic to humans in the concentrations found in ripening rooms (100-150 ppm).
It was Wikipedia who answered the question of whether her green bananas will ripen on their own: Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed" (i.e. not treated with ethylene), and may show up at the supermarket fully green. They are known as Guineos verdes (green bananas). When they have been picked green, and not been gassed, they will never fully ripen before becoming rotten. Instead of fresh eating, these bananas are used for cooking, as is the case in Jamaican cuisine. So ungassed bananas aren't about 'organic' but about being a cooking ingredient.
Ethylene gas is all about fruits, such as tomato, banana, and pear. They can be harvested just before ripening has started (typically in a hard, green, but mature stage). This is a precise stage and it allows time for the fruit to be stored and transported to distant places.
We too can 'administer' ethylene gas at home to trick the plant into ripening its fruits and vegetables earlier. We do this by placing the fruit or vegetable inside a paper bag. This is typically done with tomatoes in the autumn. It will concentrate the ethylene gas inside the bag, causing the fruit to ripen. Do not use a plastic bag, which can trap moisture, causing the fruit to rot. And you do need to pick it when it is mature and not before then. There are lots of ways to ripen green tomatoes off the vine. Check them out HERE.
As for green bananas, cook them like potatoes - boiled, french fried, mashed, latkes. To boil, cut the ends off, and lower the bananas with peel into the water for 15 - 20 minutes of boiling until skin and water darkens and bananas are tender.
Florida Dogwoods are blooming - those white blossoms floating in the trees with barely the hint off the leaves on the branches. This second picture is on Yates Street, St. Catharines.
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