Bananas are an important part of maintaining a healthy diet, and an easy snack to keep in the kitchen. Whether adding to your morning granola bowl or adding to toast for a mid-afternoon snack, bananas are also a great source of fibre in our diet and can help with managing blood sugar levels, which is particularly great for those with diabetes.
If you often buy a bunch of bananas to keep in your kitchen, you might find that they only last for a few days before turning brown. While some people don’t mind eating overripe bananas, they’re at their peak ripeness when bright yellow, which is an ideal time to consume them as they won’t be too sweet at this stage either.
Because of how quickly bananas can brown and ripen, they’re one of the most wasted fruits in UK households, but waste management specialists Wheeldon Brothers have shared a simple trick to reduce any waste and keep them fresh for up to “14 days”.
As bananas release ethylene gas, the waste management experts recommend wrapping the stems in foil to slow down the process. Ethylene is a natural part of many fruits ripening process, but bananas produce a high amount of the gas which is why they ripen so quickly.
Once fully ripe, bananas should be stored in the fridge, keeping the fruit fresh for longer. You can tell when a banana is ripe by looking at the skin. Yellow skin without any brown dots is a sign it’s ready to eat.
While you can still eat a banana that has brown dots, and is even entirely brown on the outside, the texture will be much softer and it will be sweeter in taste. This can instead cause blood sugars to spike.
Instead of chucking them out, bananas that are overripe are a great addition to baking, or smoothies.
But you can avoid overripe bananas by keeping them in the fridge once yellow. The waste management experts explained that this will stop them from ripening further “without affecting the quality of the fruit”.
You might also notice that your bananas turn brown in the fridge, but the experts assured that this won’t affect the taste. Instead, keeping them in the fridge once ripened means “the inside stays delicious” and prevents any unnecessary food waste.
Storing unripe bananas in the fridge can lead to them tasting bitter, and actually decaying faster, so this method should only be used for bananas that are already ripe and yellow in appearance.
