It may seem obvious to keep bananas in a fruit bowl but this is actually one of the worst places to store them as it will cause them to spoil and become mushy quickly.
Most people do not realise that most fruits produce a substance called ethylene gas, a natural growth hormone responsible for making fruit ripen so it becomes much more flavourful.
When too much fruit is piled on top of each other it will release too much ethylene gas into the air, which will cause all nearby produce to expire at a faster rate and become rotten within days.
Bananas already have a short lifespan and are not only extremely sensitive to ethylene gas but release a lot of it from their stems, so it is best to keep bananas far away from other fruit if you can.
The experts at Zest Food Service have shared that you can store bananas next to citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons as they are unaffected by the gas, but other fruits without a protective peel should not be stored with bananas.
They explained: “The ethene which bananas release can affect many other fruits, such as apples and pears, which is why you should keep the bananas separate from these fruits unless you intentionally want to ripen them quicker.”
Bananas should also not be stored next to avocados unless you want to ripen them quickly, and should also be kept away from honeydew, mangos, peaches and plums.
Instead, if you wish to keep bananas fresh then it is best to place them in a separate bowl away from your fruit bowl and then block the bananas from producing ethylene gas by wrapping up their stems.
The experts said: “If you block this crown with cling-film or silver foil, you can prevent the gas from escaping and severely slow down the ripening process. This could give you another three to five days on the natural ripening timescale.”
Once bananas have turned yellow and are just beginning to go spotty then you can also place them in the fridge which will slow down the ethylene gas and stop bananas ripening completely.
It may seem strange but it is often a misconception that bananas cannot be stored in the fridge since they are from a warm climate, but it is actually one of the best places to keep them if you can to prolong their expiration date.
The experts said: “You can store them in the fridge and this will maintain the firmness and flavour of the banana, but will allow the skin to turn brown, even though the fruit inside remains light coloured.”
The peel of a banana may turn black due to the cold temperature but the fruit inside will stay fresh so you can keep bananas for much longer.
However, storing bananas at such a cold temperature will stop them from ripening completely so it is best not to store green bananas in the fridge as it will prevent them from being able to become yellow and affect their taste.
The experts said: “Keep in mind with delayed ripening options that you will effectively pause the process at the point where the banana currently is. If you stick a green banana in the fridge or wrap the stem, it will stay green and unripe, so choose the level of ripeness you desire, before pursuing either of the above options.”
Keeping bananas away from certain fruits, then waiting until they are yellow to wrap up their stem and place them in the fridge can keep them fresh for two weeks longer than they normally would last.
