6 Convenient tricks to keep your bananas from spoiling
One day they appear all green, and the next moment you’re suddenly stuck with a bunch of overripe, brown bananas. We’re sharing six tips to keep the yellow fruit fresh!
1. Hang your bananas
Bananas will start ripening the moment they’re taken from their tree. As soon as they’re plucked, the stem will start releasing ethylene gas. However, the ripening is slowed down when you hang the fruit. Additionally, you’ll prevent bruising your bananas on your sink or the fruit bowl. Of course you can make your own construction to hang them, but fortunately they’re also available special ‘banana hangers’.
2. Buy green bananas
If we’re in the supermarket, trying to pick between green and yellow bananas, we’ll often go for the latter option. They just look tastiest! Still, it’s better to pick the green variant. This way, they’ll be good for eating after turning ripe a little later. Or make a tasty treat out of them when they’re overripe!
3. Wrap the stem in plastic foil
Remember the ethylene? The gas the stem gives off? There’s a way to prevent this from speeding up the ripening process! You simply wrap the stem in some plastic foil or tin foil. It’s best to do this for every separate banana.
4. Put every ripe banana in your fridge
What? Bananas in the fridge? You’ve probably not seen it before, nor have you decided that’s where you should keep the tasty yellow fruit. But it’s true: keeping the ripe, yellow bananas in a fridge can stretch the fruit’s lifespan. However, it’s not a good idea to do this with green bananas.
4. Put every ripe banana in your fridge
What? Bananas in the fridge? You’ve probably not seen it before, nor have you decided that’s where you should keep the tasty yellow fruit. But it’s true: keeping the ripe, yellow bananas in a fridge can stretch the fruit’s lifespan. However, it’s not a good idea to do this with green bananas.
5. Freeze your bananas
Another way to keep your bananas good, is by freezing them! Our tip is to do so when they’re ripe. Don’t actually throw the full fruit in there, skin and all, but make sure to at least peel them. You could also preemptively cut the banana up. This’ll make it that much easier if you want to work the frozen fruit into a recipe at a later moment!
6. Buy a banana box
No doubt you’ve been in this situation: you’ve taking a banana with you to work, but by the time you arrive at your workplace, it’s all brown and banged up from sitting in your bag. This is where a banana box comes in: a hard case for your banana, that keeps it from bruising in your bag.