The riper, the better?

New York Times readers want to know: Do fruits that are ripe have greater vitamin value than those that aren’t? And what about sugar? Luckily, Cornell food scientist Rui Hai Liu has the answers. As he told the newspaper’s popular “Q&A” section: “Generally speaking, yes.“  In most fruits, the vitamin content and the amount of valuable phytochemicals — antioxidants called phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids — are higher in ripe fruits than in under-ripe fruits. As for sugar: “The sugar content increases in most fruits as they ripen and reach their peak. Most fruits when they are under-ripe do not taste good and may be unhealthy, like an under-ripe persimmon.”