Bananas are delicious but can be annoying to store in your kitchen as they can take ages to turn yellow and then the very next day will be brown, spotty and mushy.
However, a big reason bananas do not stay fresh for long is that many people are storing them wrong, as you should never keep them in a fruit bowl with other fruits.
It may sound strange but many fruits release ethylene gas, a natural substance that ripens produce to make it more flavourful but too much fruit stored together will also spoil it quicker according to the experts at Chiquita.
They said: “This gas is released naturally by ripe fruit, and bananas are particularly sensitive to it – it triggers ripening even if you’ve chosen quite green fruit.
“It also works in reverse: if you have fruit you want to ripen, placing a very ripe banana near them can help speed up the process. That may be one of the more well-known unconventional banana uses!”
What is the best way to store bananas?
Bananas will stay fresh as long as ethylene gas is not left to build up in the environment which is why it is important to take it out of the plastic bag packaging as soon as you get home from the shops
The expert said: “Stores often wrap bananas in plastic bags, but this is particularly bad for our sunny little fruit as plastic traps moisture.”
The best way to keep bananas yellow for longer is to store them alone somewhere cool and dark such as a cupboard or kitchen drawer.
The expert said: “Make sure they aren’t placed close to any heating or next to a cold window because extremes of temperature are also not ideal.”
How to prevent ethylene gas from spoiling bananas?
Bananas produce a lot of ethylene gas from their stem so they will eventually turn brown after only a few days unless you know how to block it.
All you need to do is wrap the stem of bananas in clingfilm or tin foil, as this will slow down the ethylene gas and prevent it from affecting the rest of the fruit.
The expert explained: “While plastic bags are not good for your bananas, wrapping the crown in some plastic wrap helps to control the release of ethylene, which is critical to storing bananas well.
“Because the crown is the point where the bananas were cut from the stem, it’s where most ethylene gas is released and keeping that area under wraps helps to prevent the gas from reaching the rest of the fruit.”
Once bananas have turned yellow you can also store them in the fridge, which will turn the peel black due to a reaction to the cold but the fruit inside will be preserved and stay fresh.
Storing bananas in the fridge will halt the ripening process completely so do not store green unripened bananas this way as they will never fully develop their flavour.
The expert said: “When they have fully ripened, it’s a good idea to store bananas in the fridge to extend their freshness – in a fridge, they will keep nicely for an extra week or two.
“But be careful – until they do go yellow, putting them in the fridge can prevent them from ripening properly.”
