Available year-round, portable, sweet and creamy, bananas are a convenient way to add needed nutrients to your diet. Bananas are rich in vitamins, potassium, soluble fiber and protease inhibitors, which help to remove stomach bacteria. Studies show that eating bananas regularly helps maintain heart function, blood pressure levels, bone density, vision, digestion and kidney health. Buy fresh bananas and store them for later.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Part One: Storing to Ripen
Step 1. Choose bananas based on their maturity levels
Depending on when you want to use them and how you want to store them, you will want them to be more or less mature. If you're buying just for yourself, it's best to buy greener bananas so they aren't fully ripe. If you're shopping for the whole family or a few people who are going to eat them fast, then choose ripe bananas. Here are some questions to keep in mind when choosing your bananas:
- Green bananas are not yet ripe. Buy green bananas to make them last longer in the freezer. Choose firm fruit without black spots on the skin.
- Ripe bananas are in adult color. Most bananas are yellow when ripe, but some varieties are brown or red. The more adult color appears in the shell, the more mature it is.
- Bananas with brown spots are the sweetest. When small brown spots grow on the skin, the more ripe fruit becomes. When the skin is more brown or black than yellow, the fruit is overripe.
- Avoid bananas that have a gray color. This is a sign that the bananas have been refrigerated, which interferes with proper ripening.
Step 2. Remove bananas from plastic bags as soon as you get home
Never store bananas in plastic bags as they contain too much moisture and the fruit can rot.
There is an alternative theory. Bananas can stay fresh longer if they remain in the bag; remove one and leave the rest in the bag to test. If the leftover ripens more quickly, the bag can keep the bananas fresh longer. However, this may depend on the humidity and heat levels in the room where the bananas are
Step 3. Store green bananas at room temperature
Refrigerating or freezing bananas before they ripen prevents the fruit from ripening properly, even after they are brought back to room temperature.
- Place green bananas in a brown paper bag to speed up the ripening process. Add an apple or a tomato to the bag to ripen the bananas in less than a day.
- Another way to speed up the process is to place the bananas next to other ripe fruit in a bowl, such as other ripe bananas.
Step 4. Leave ripening yellow-green bananas exposed to room temperature air for a few days
Be patient. While it's true that the hotter the room, the faster the banana ripens, you should avoid placing bananas in direct sunlight.
Step 5. Hang the bananas on a banana tree
If you really like bananas, then a banana tree is a great investment. You can find one to hang on your counter, or mountable banana racks. Banana plants and holders allow air to circulate and prevent injuries to your fruit.
Step 6. Keep ripe bananas at room temperature if you're going to eat them within a few days
Eat or refrigerate bananas when spots start to appear on the skin and before they overripe.
Step 7. Keep sliced bananas fresh
If you have sliced a banana, whether to put it in the fridge or to make a delicious fruit salad, you should cover the slices with a little lemon juice, apple juice or vinegar, which will keep them fresher for longer.
Method 2 of 2: Part Two: Storing Ripe Bananas
Step 1. Separate the bananas from the bunch
If they are already quite ripe then you can keep them fresh and yellow longer by pulling each one out of the bunch. Doing so will keep each banana fresher longer.
Step 2. Store ripe bananas along with unripe fruit
Take a pear or avocado that hasn't ripened yet and place it next to the bananas: this will slow down their ripening process, while the other fruit ripens faster. Everyone wins!
Step 3. Wrap the banana stems in plastic wrap
This will prevent the ethylene gas, which is naturally produced during the ripening process, from reaching the other parts of the fruit and making them ripen too quickly. You can put some duct tape on the plastic wrap for added security. Each time you remove a banana from the bunch, carefully close it again. Alternatively, you can just separate the bananas from the bunch and then wrap them individually. This will take a little effort, but it's worth it!
Step 4. Place the bananas in the harvest drawer of your refrigerator after they have fully ripened
Cooling down greatly slows down the ripening process, but doesn't stop it completely. The skin will continue to turn brown, but the fruit will be fresh and firm for one to two weeks. According to the multinational Bananas Dole, storing bananas in the fridge will preserve their delicious taste for longer, even if the skins turn black.
Step 5. Peel the bananas before freezing them
Place as many as will fit into a ziplock bag or plastic container, and store in the freezer. Note: Freezing unpeeled bananas will make it impossible to peel them later when thawed. And when they thaw, it will be a mess. Add frozen, peeled bananas to smoothies.
Step 6. Store bananas in the freezer for several months
When defrosted, you can use bananas for baking and cooking, as in fruit sauces and smoothies. You can also sprinkle them with a little lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.
- Peel bananas and crush or cut them into pieces before freezing.
- Break the banana into the quantities needed to make a recipe.
- Place sliced bananas in ziplock-style freezer bags or plastic containers to store in the freezer.
Step 7. Make banana bread with bananas that are overripe.
Banana bread is a delicious snack made from overripe bananas. If it's too late for you to save or eat them, then maybe it's time to make this delicious snack. After all, you don't want to waste what was once a bunch of tasty bananas, do you? All you need is a few simple ingredients, including bananas, nuts, flour, eggs, butter and cinnamon.