Bananas stay yellow for 10 days longer if stored using 1 item – won’t go mushy or brown (Image: Getty)
Many people know despite their intended yellow hue. Their rapid ripening timeline occurs because bananas produce a significant amount of ethylene gas, a natural plant hormone that accelerates ripening. This gas is responsible for the mushy texture and unsightly brown colouring once they reach maturity.
Keeping bananas in the stage when they turn green to yellow can seem impossible, but you can prolong this stage thanks to one loophole: ethylene gas is released primarily from the stem. To stave off the ethylene gas, banana fans can follow a simple and wrap the stems in clingfilm.
:
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Mushy, brown bananas are unpleasant to eat but they are great baked into banana bread (Image: Getty)
This method can keep your bananas fresh for 10 days, sometimes even longer.
On her website, Kitchen Mason, food expert Emma Mason 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.”
She advises, “To make them last the longest – split the bunch into single bananas and wrap each stem individually.”
Her own tests show that bananas stored with the stems wrapped in cling film maintain their yellow colour far better even after 10 days, compared to those that weren’t treated, which begin to blacken and spot.
Don’t miss… [REVEAL]
Wrapping banana stems in clingfilm is a worthwhile venture (Image: Getty)
As for where to keep wrapped bananas, the fruit bowl is often criticised as a permanent home for bananas. However, there’s a scientific reason you should be hanging your bananas from a hook.
According to Taste of Home, hanging bananas slows down the ethylene gas’s action. It also prevents them from bruising on the counter, which they’re more prone to as they continue ripening.
There is a common pitfall to keeping bananas in a busy fruit bowl. When ethylene-producing foods are stored together, they all rot more quickly.
Emma advised storing bananas in a cool place away from other fruit, but never in the fridge. She cautioned: “Don’t put them in the fridge! They’re not used to cold climates (as they grow in hot countries) so chilling them stops the production of ethylene gas. Meaning, they won’t ripen and worse – the skin will go black. Not very appetising!”.
Instead, store bananas (with wrapped stems) in their own fruit bowl to protect the delicate skin.
Another easy way to prolong your bananas’ shelf life is to buy the greenest bananas.
These bananas are picked while still green, then slowly ripen over time to reach that bright yellow everyone loves. So, instead of picking the perfectly ripened bananas off the shelf, grab a green bunch you can hang from a hook.
If you find bananas spoiling in transit, whether in a work bag, gym bag, or packed lunch, purpose-made containers may be worth a try.
Hard cases built specifically for bananas come in handy, and you can now buy reusable containers designed to hold one banana at a time. This is a great way to keep ripe bananas ready for lunch—especially after your hard work keeping them green.