Bananas are a breakfast favourite, yet they have a frustrating habit of turning brown and slimy before you get a chance to eat them. In the UK, they are among the most wasted foods because most households store them incorrectly.
The common habit of keeping bananas in a fruit bowl actually shortens their shelf life. Bananas release large amounts of ethylene gas, a natural plant hormone that helps fruit ripen. When stored alongside other fruit, the gas builds up in the air and causes everything in the bowl – including the bananas – to spoil quickly.
Why the fruit bowl is the worst place for bananas
Apples are the worst fruit to keep next to bananas because they also emit high levels of ethylene. Pears, peaches and avocados also accelerate the ripening process, turning yellow bananas brown within a few days. To save money on your food shop, it is better to remove bananas from the fruit bowl completely.
Where should you store bananas instead?
Stephanie Dulgarian, a mum and the founder of Somewhat Simple, has revealed that bananas stay fresh for much longer when stored on the kitchen counter, far away from other fruit. She also recommends wrapping the stems.
She said: "Wrapping your banana stems in cling wrap will help slow the ripening process and keep your bananas fresh for three to four days longer than if you don’t wrap them."
How to wrap banana stems with clingfilm
Bananas release ethylene gas from their stems, and wrapping them in clingfilm blocks much of that gas from escaping, which helps keep the fruit yellow for longer.
To do this, take the bananas out of any plastic bags as soon as you get home, because plastic covering the fruit traps moisture and leads to rotting. Avoid placing bananas near a window, stove or anywhere warm, as excessive heat also makes fruit spoil before its time.
Separate the bananas from the bunch, wrap each stem individually in clingfilm or tinfoil, and then place them in a bowl at the end of a kitchen counter. This should keep bananas perfectly yellow for at least a week longer than they would normally last.
Storing bananas in the fridge
If you want bananas to last even longer, you can store them in the fridge. Ethylene gas cannot survive in cold temperatures, so refrigeration is usually the most effective way to keep bananas fresh.
Stephanie said: "Have you ever tried refrigerating bananas? If you don’t care about the peels looking brown or even black, give this method a try! The peels will turn brown much faster, but the fruit itself lasts WEEKS longer! They stay firm and fresh, and they taste delicious!"
However, it should be noted that refrigeration halts the ripening process completely, so only store yellow bananas that have already begun to ripen. If you put green bananas in the fridge, they will never develop properly and will remain hard, starchy and tasteless.
To help bananas last at least two weeks longer, keep them out of the fruit bowl, wrap yellow bananas in clingfilm, and then store them in the fridge once they start turning brown.
