Best place to store bananas to keep them fresh 5 days longer – won’t go spotty or brown

Bananas are often stored in a fruit bowl without a second thought, but it actually one of the worst places to keep them in your kitchen.

Many fruits produce a growth hormone called ethylene gas which helps it ripen and become sweet but will cause fruit to spoil quickly if too much is stored together.

It is best to keep bananas on a kitchen countertop separated from other fruits as they produce a high amount of ethylene gas, but they will still spoil after only a few days when kept next to other bananas. 

However, Rose Reisman, a chef and cookbook author, has shared you can keep bananas fresh for much longer with her clingfilm method. 

She said: “How often do we buy bananas and we turn around a couple of days later and they look [spotty and brown]? It’s great for baking and great for the freezer, but not great for eating. 

“So here’s a tip, you can take your bananas and it is actually better if you separate them and wrap each one in a little bit of plastic wrap.” 

“It prevents the ethylene gases from penetrating the banana which is why it goes ripe.” 

Rose then showed herself breaking up a bunch of bananas and wrapping the stem of each yellow banana in a little bit of clingfilm. 

Bananas produce ethylene gas through the stem, and wrapping up creates a barrier which contains the gas at the source and prevents it from affecting the rest of the bananas. 

The clingfilm will greatly slow down the ripening process and help extend a banana’s shelf life by several days. 

Rose said: “Keep [the wrap] on until you are ready to eat it and this will keep your banana for about four or five days looking good and tasting great.”

In Rose’s comment section, many people praised the storage method and said it had worked for them. 

One user said: “It does work! Great advice.” While another person wrote: “I’ve been doing this for years and it keeps them fresh.” 

Someone else added: “I do this and aluminium foil [works] the same.” 

Another commentator added: “Smart! It’s always fun to learn something new.” 

However, one user named Richard also shared that any bananas that become ripe can be sliced and frozen to use for breakfast and cut down on food waste. 

He said: “You can slice them, and freeze the slices on a tray or plate. Once frozen, put the slices in a sealed bag and keep them in the freezer. Add slices to your oatmeal.”