Bananas are packed with several nutrients, including vitamin B6, fibre, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and vitamin C. Besides, they benefit the heart and aid in digestion. Also, it contributes to healthy weight gain.
Unless you are making banana bread, bruised and blackened bananas are nobody’s favourite. But the problem with bananas is that they easily get ripe within a few days after they are bought from the store. Thus, we have come up with a few tricks that will help bananas remain fresh for a longer time.
1. Buy Green Bananas
When you are in the store and are tempted to reach for the perfectly ripe, yellow bananas, opt for the green ones instead. These green bananas will ripen over the course of time to achieve the yellow colour, thus giving you more time to put your bananas to use. This is the easiest way to prolong the shelf life of the bananas. Moreover, if you buy yellow bananas, they have to be consumed within three days; thus, buying unripe bananas will keep the pressure off.
2. Remove The Plastic Bag
If bananas come in a plastic bag from the store, remove the fruit from the bag immediately upon returning home. This is because the bananas inside the plastic bags will ripen faster as the gas or ethylene emitted from the bananas will build up in the bag and speed up the ripening.
3. Wrap The Stems In Plastic Wrap
As soon as the bananas are plucked from the trees, the ethylene gas produced in their stems starts travelling down, ripening the bananas. The best way to avoid the quick ripening of bananas is to wrap the stem with plastic wrap or aluminium foil. You can also notice in the supermarket that the stems are wrapped with plastic wrap to slow the ripening process. For the best result, divide the bananas individually and wrap the stems in plastic wrap.
4. Hang Your Bananas From A Hook
If you hang the bananas from the hook, the ethylene gas works slowly. Besides, hanging the bananas will allow them to get exposed to proper airflow, thus preventing them from getting bumped against anything and getting bruised.
5. Place Ripe Bananas In The Refrigerator
Usually, it is said that bananas should never be kept in the fridge. But the rule does not apply to ripe bananas. Once the bananas are completely ripe, you can move them to the fridge. A cooler temperature slows down the chemical ripening process. There’s nothing to worry about if the skin turns brown or black. This colour change comes from pigment in the peel. The fruit inside will remain intact with good flavour and texture.
6. Give Peeled Bananas An Citric Acid Bath
Before you plan to eat your half-eaten banana, consider giving it an acid bath. To do this, immerse the banana chunks in lime juice for three minutes or sprinkle the lemon juice on the whole banana after peeling. Feel free to dilute the lime juice with water. Adding citrus slows down the oxidation process. Besides, it may change the taste of the banana, making it a little tart.
7. Increase The Shelf Life Of Bananas By Freezing Them
If you are trying to keep the bananas for a longer time, put them in the freezer instead of the refrigerator. Bananas should be peeled before freezing. You can freeze them in larger chunks, slices, mashed, or even whole.
8. Buy A Banana Keeper
Bruising can cause squishy parts and a faster ripening of the bananas. To avoid this, hard cases have been built specifically to keep bananas handy. The banana keeper can hold one banana at a time. This helps prevent the fruit from getting bruised or ripe.
