It is important to know the best way to store food to keep it fresh longer and save a bit of money, but many people do not realise they are storing bananas wrong.
Emma Mason, a cook and founder of Kitchen Mason, has warned that bananas should never be stored in a fruit bowl near other fruits as it can cause them to rot.
She said: “Don’t store bananas with your other fruits as they’ll ripen more quickly (unless you have under-ripe fruit, then go ahead).”
It may seem strange, but bananas produce ethylene gas from their stems, which is a natural hormone that causes fruit to ripen to make them softer and more flavourful.
However, bananas are sensitive to this gas and when too much fruit is piled together it will release too much ethylene into the air which will cause everything to begin spoiling.
If you have green bananas, storing them with other fruit is a simple way to ripen them; but if your bananas are already yellow, then it is important to store them elsewhere to stop them from going brown or mushy.
Instead, bananas should be stored far away from other fruit, but make sure to store them somewhere cool as hot temperatures will also cause bananas to spoil.
Emma said: “To keep bananas fresh for longer, wrap the stems in cling film to stop the ethylene gas from getting to the rest of the fruit and ripening it too quickly.
“To make them last the longest – split the bunch into single bananas and wrap each stem individually.”
Wrapping the stem of a banana in foil slows down the release of ethylene gas that ripens the fruit; it also retains moisture at the stem, which stops the fruit from drying out and ripening quickly.
Storing the banana this way also reduces the fruit’s exposure to oxygen, which stops the banana peel from turning brown and spotty.
Emma wrapped up the banana stem to see how well it worked; she was amazed to find that her fruit was still yellow and unmarked after 10 days.
She said: “If you wrap the stems of your bananas, they will last much longer and you’re far less likely to throw them away. This is not only better for your bank balance but it’s better for our planet too!”