Bananas are a healthy snack and delicious on cereal, in smoothies or baking. However, they don’t stay fresh for long, often turning brown, soft and mushy within a matter of days.
While it might appear sensible to place bananas in a fruit bowl, this actually ranks among the poorest locations to keep them in your kitchen. Storing bananas alongside other fruits can actually lead to them rapidly becoming soft and blackened. This is because most fruits emit a natural plant hormone known as ethylene gas which stimulates the ripening process.
Bananas ought never to be kept alongside other fruits or stacked excessively, given they generate substantial quantities of ethylene gas and frequently begin spoiling first.
Nevertheless, Stephanie Dulgarian, a chef and creator of Somewhat Simple, has revealed that you can decelerate ethylene production so bananas remain fresh for extended periods by placing them in the fridge instead.
Stephanie explained: “Have you ever tried refrigerating bananas? If you don’t care about the peels looking brown or even black, give this method a try!”.
“The peels will turn brown much faster, but the fruit itself lasts WEEKS longer! They stay firm and fresh and they taste delicious!”.
It represents a widespread misunderstanding that bananas cannot be chilled since this causes the skin to blacken, though this occurs simply because it’s a tropical fruit unaccustomed to cold conditions.
The flesh within will remain yellow and fresh and will stay edible for a fortnight longer than if stored in a fruit bowl. However, it’s crucial to note that only bananas which have ripened and sport a yellow skin should be placed in the fridge.
Green bananas remain unripe and if kept at chilly temperatures they will never properly mature and develop their sweet taste.
Rather, keep green bananas on your kitchen worktop away from other fruits, then transfer them to the fridge once they’ve turned yellow.
Nevertheless, you can also maintain bananas’ freshness for longer at room temperature by wrapping their stems in clingfilm since this is where the ethylene gas emerges.
Stephanie explained: “Wrapping your banana stems in cling wrap will help slow the ripening process and keep your bananas fresh for three to four days longer than if you don’t wrap them.”
The optimal method for storing bananas is to leave them on the kitchen worktop at room temperature whilst they remain green.
You may wrap the stem in clingfilm if desired, which will further delay deterioration.
Then once they become yellow, store them in the refrigerator and your bananas will remain fresh for two weeks longer rather than turning black after merely a few days.