Whenever I buy some fresh fruit and veg from my local supermarket, I leave convinced it’s ripe, juicy, and vibrant.
But when I take it home and let it loose in my fridge or fruit bowl, well... reality is often a bit more dull.
If you’ve had a similar experience, Scientific American shared a TikTok which might help to explain why.
“Ever wonder why fruits and vegetables come in bags that look like this?” one of the publication’s staff asked, panning over some nets of sweet potato.
“It’s got to do with something called ’the confetti illusion,” they explained.
What’s “the confetti illusion”?
The effect, which the Journal of Illusion says is related to the “Monker Illusion,” affects how we see colour.
“The confetti illusion is made up of foreground stripes of multiple colours and presents multiple apparent colours,” they explain.
The closer together the stripes are along or across a contrasting colour, the more effective the illusion can be.
In practice, that means housing orange clementines in a net might make their colour look a little more ripe and bright than it proves to be out of the packaging.
Of course, netting has general advantages for produce as it means they’re able to ‘breathe’: the addition of colour can create a false illusion of ripeness, however.
This effect on fruit in nets was discovered by a German perception psychologist called Karl Gegenfurtner.
In a paper published in Sage Journals this year, he said, “Our research introduces a novel aspect by showing how unripe and greenish-looking oranges can be perceived as ripe and vibrantly coloured when viewed through an orange net.”
He adds that colour bouncing off the netting onto the fruit is also to blame as well as the confetti effect: “The effect is certainly partly due and strengthened by interreflections between the net and the fruit.”
Given that the confetti effect doesn’t have to use a clashing colour to work and that the colour somewhat assimilates, it makes sense that netting is chosen that reflects the colour of perfectly-ripe whatever-it-is.
How can I tell if fruit and veg is really ripe?
You could buy the ones that aren’t placed in any netting, or touch and smell produce to see if it feels right.
Interestingly Cookist says citrus fruits are heavier when ripe ― look out (well, hold out for) fruits that feel weighty for their size.
The same rule applies to apples and pomegranates, HowStuffWorks advises.
They add that opting for in-season produce and even visiting your local farmer’s market can help too.