Bananas are the common fruit on our shopping list but unfortunately, they are also one of the most wasted foods as they often begin to rot only a few days after being bought.
Stephen Jones, a cook and founder of the Reluctant Gourmet, has shared that bananas often ripen quickly because they produce ethylene gas from their stem.
He said: “Ethylene is a natural hormone produced by the banana itself and is responsible for softening the fruit and developing its sweet flavour.”
Ethylene will cause a banana to ripen and its production will increase significantly once the fruit turns yellow, which is why it has such a short shelf life.
It is frustrating spending money on fruit only for it to spoil before you have a chance to eat it, but Stephan has three very simple storage tips to help bananas last weeks longer than they normally would.
How to make bananas last much longer
1. Keep them away from the fruit bowl
It may seem obvious that bananas belong in the fruit bowl but other fruits also produce ethylene gas, and then too much ethylene is in the air it will cause all produce to begin ripening at a faster rate.
Stephen said: “Ethylene is a gas, so other fruits and vegetables can easily absorb it. To prevent your bananas from ripening too quickly, try to store them away from other ethylene-producing foods, such as apples, avocados, and tomatoes.”
2. Store them in a cool place away from heat
Store bananas somewhere cool in the kitchen and keep them away from appliances such as microwaves, air fryers or ovens as the hot air can cause bananas to ripen quickly.
Stephen said: “Bananas ripen faster at warmer temperatures. Store them in a cool, dry place to slow the ripening process. A pantry or basement is a good option.”
If you wish, you can also store bananas in the fridge as it will cause their peel to turn black but the fruit inside will remain fresh.
However, bananas can only be stored in the fridge once they have fully ripened and turned yellow as the cold will stop them from growing completely.
3. Wrap the banana stem
One of the best ways to keep bananas fresh is to simply wrap the step up in paper, baking paper or tin foil as it will prevent ethylene gas from spreading to the rest of the fruit.
Stephen said: “The plastic wrap helps prevent the ethylene gas from reaching the rest of the banana and slows down ripening.
“If you separate the bananas from the bunch and wrap the stems in plastic wrap, they will last even longer.”
If you wrap up the stem, store bananas somewhere cool and keep them away from other fruit, they will stay fresh two weeks longer than they normally would.
