I can’t deny it. I’m a banana fan and I’ve grown up loving the fruit more than just about any other. Apart from tasting delicious, bananas are full of potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, and they are also full of fiber. What’s more, they come ready packed, so you can take them with you for a healthy snack wherever you go.
However, I do a grocery shop once a week, and although I eat a lot of bananas, I find they can turn brown quickly. So, I was intrigued when I came across this tip to keep bananas fresh for longer. Although I love the taste, once bananas become overripe, they're only fit for the compost bin. Well, unless you catch them in time to make banana cake.
What causes bananas to turn brown?
Bananas are one fruit that continues to ripen after harvest, and according to Dole, this is because they contain the plant hormone ethylene, which the banana produces itself. The ethylene gas ripens the fruit and makes it soft to eat, turning starches into sugar and giving the fruit its sweet taste and aroma. It also turns the color of the banana skin from green to yellow.
However, other fruits, such as apples, plums, kiwis, and peaches, also produce ethylene, and if stored in the same fruit bowl as bananas, they will hasten the ripening process. Luckily, there’s an easy remedy, and that’s to store bananas away from other fruits. One solution is to use a banana hanger, like the Totally Bamboo Banana Holder ($16 at Amazon).
Delay the ripening process with this simple hack
Although, there is another way to slow down the ripening process of bananas, and that’s where this simple trick comes in. Bananas will stay fresh for longer if you cover their stems, and the item you need to use is sitting right in your pantry.
Wrapping the banana stems in Saran Wrap is all you need to do to slow down the ripening process. “Wrapping the stems of bananas in plastic wrap effectively slows down the room-temperature ripening process. The stems release the ethylene gas, so covering them traps the gas,” Mandy Applegate, expert at Two City Vegans, told the U.K. Express newspaper.
“This simple technique can keep room-temperature bananas firm and yellow for longer. Just a small piece of plastic wrap can make all the difference in extending bananas’ shelf life,” she adds.
By removing your bananas from your fruit bowl and wrapping the stems in plastic wrap, you could extend the life of your bananas, keeping them fresh up to 10 or even 14 days.
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