Bananas are a staple in many people’s food shops, but due to having a short shelf-life, end up being one of the most wasted foods.
If purchased when yellow, bananas will stay ripe for a few days, and if they are green, they may last an extra few days.
However, sometimes they may not even ripen properly when purchased green and may stay hard.
I decided to put three storage hacks to the test to see which one kept my bananas riper for longer.
This included hanging them up in a fruit bowl, wrapping the stems in clingfilm and keeping them in the fridge.
1. Hanging up
Hanging the fruit up eliminates the potential for bruising, which happens when the bananas are lying on top of each hour.
It also helps to promote the free movement of air around the bananas, dissipating the ethylene gas they produce when ripening.
I made sure to keep the fruit away from direct sunlight too, but due to it being warm, hanging them up didn’t keep them as ripe as the other methods.
It definitely kept them fresher for longer than simply laying them in a fruit bowl but I wouldn’t rush to use this method again.
2. Wrapping the stem in plastic wrap
Covering the stem ends of each banana with plastic wrap helps to reduce the release of ethylene gas.
Plastic wrap can be used with aluminium foil which both work in the same way to slow down the ripening process.
I didn’t find this method worked at all as the bananas browned at a similar rate as leaving them on the side.
I think maybe next time I would wrap each individual stem to see if that worked, although it seems like a lot of waste.
3. In the fridge
I had seen many people online keeping their bananas in the fridge to keep them ripe but never liked the idea of eating a cold banana so always avoided it.
My bananas were stored in the fruit bowl until they were ripe before I then placed them in the fridge, away from other foods and fruit.
If they’re kept at a cold temperature, the enzymes which enable them to ripen are slowed down, helping to keep them fresher for longer.
This method worked very well and kept my bananas edible for over a week, which is impressive.
