While bananas seem simple to store, their ethylene gas production can make keeping them fresh a bit tricky. But fear not, expert advice can help you preserve both the taste and texture of your bananas, extending their shelf life significantly.
Linda Tyler, a renowned culinary expert and creator of the popular cookbook and website, Gracious Vegan, dispels common myths about storing this beloved fruit. She recommends placing yellow bananas in the refrigerator to slow their over-ripening process, even though the skin may change color. “If you can bring yourself to peel that brown skin in the week following,” she clarifies, “you’ll find the banana inside to be firmer than its brothers and sisters left at room temperature, and its taste will be just fine.”
Elaborating on her fruit storage techniques, she notes: “In other words, if you like ‘medium’ bananas, you should consider refrigerating them just after they lose their green cast.” However, this technique isn’t universally effective. Green bananas do not respond well to refrigeration. Linda shares her own experience, stating: “I tried refrigerating a couple of green bananas. The good news is that the peel didn’t turn brown, but the bad news is that the banana inside didn’t start to ripen, so it wasn’t sweet or tasty; it just kind of stalled in the pre-ripened state.”
To optimize storage, Linda advises keeping bananas separate from other fruits until they turn yellow. Once they reach that stage, refrigerating them can extend their shelf life by about a week. Interestingly, a fruit bowl can be one of the worst places to keep bananas, as it can lead to faster spoilage. This is because bananas emit ethylene gas, a natural growth hormone that accelerates ripening, affecting nearby fruits as well. Storing bananas away from other ethylene-producing fruits can help maintain their freshness longer.
