According to Out Of Date UK, the nation throws away a staggering 900,000 bananas every day.
Browned bananas can be turned into delicious banana bread, but if you want to keep them fresh for longer, there’s a way to do that.
While storing yellow bananas on the counter may only last for five days, if you’re lucky, the refrigerator only extends the lifespan by a couple of days.
Instead of throwing away browned bananas, or turning them into banana bread, there is a way to keep them fresh for up to six months with one handy food storage hack.
Home Food Waste Expert Kate Hall said: “When it comes to saving your bananas from the bin, you should always wait until they are fully ripened before freezing them.”
Kate explained on her TikTok channel: “The riper they are, the sweeter they’ll be; there are a few ways that you can freeze them.
“I’m going to share two of my favourite [ways to freeze bananas]… the first way is just in slices.”
Frozen sliced banana pieces, conveniently packaged in a freezer bag, can be added to smoothies at a later date, or blitzed into banana ice cream.
“If you want, you can just sling your banana straight into the freezer,” added Kate, who cautioned that “the skins will turn black”. She reassured her viewers: “Don’t worry, they’re still safe to use.”
As for her second method of freezing bananas – which can stay fresh in the freezer for up to six months – Kate said her idea is “so good”.
Kate explained: “Simply split bananas into three, then cut them into finger-sized pieces and freeze them.
“Once they’re frozen, melt some dark chocolate and then dip the frozen bananas into it. “Return these to the freezer until frozen solid and then – oh, my word – you have the most delicious snack on your hands.”
The mum revealed her children are yet to experience the banana chocolate snacks but they’ve become her “not-so-guilty pleasure”.
Home Food Expert Kate Hall is the author of The Full Freezer Method: Five Steps to Transform How You Shop, Cook & Live
