Bananas stored in a warm or sunny spot in the kitchen, or placed alongside other fruit, will turn brown and soft more quickly, according to a food expert. The location where bananas are kept is crucial to ensuring they remain fresh and in optimal condition for eating and cooking purposes.
Common mistake speeds up ripening
Mimi Morley, Senior Recipe Development Manager at HelloFresh, said people frequently make errors that cause the fruit to ripen far more rapidly than necessary. She advised keeping bananas away from other fruit, direct sunlight and heat.
“To stop bananas ripening too quickly, keep them away from other fruit, away from direct sunlight and away from heat,” she said. “Bananas give off a ripening hormone called ethylene, and fruits like apples, pears and avocados are especially good at both producing and picking up on it, so keeping them apart stops that ripening effect from rubbing off.”
She added: “Warmth speeds things up too, so it's worth remembering that a toasty kitchen worktop will get your bananas ripening much faster than you'd expect.”
Worktop warmth and fruit bowls
Bananas ripen at their natural pace when left on a worktop at room temperature, considerably faster than if stored in a cooler spot. Worktops subject bananas to ambient warmth, which accelerates the process by which internal starches are converted into sugars.
Consequently, they should never be positioned near excessively warm areas. Placing bananas alongside other ethylene-producing fruits such as apples, pears or avocados will cause them to ripen at an even faster rate, so they should be kept out of fruit bowls containing these items to maximise shelf life.
When to refrigerate bananas
As a rule, bananas ought only to be refrigerated once they have reached full ripeness. The cold environment prevents green or firm bananas from ripening correctly but prolongs the lifespan of yellow bananas. Although the peel may darken to black, the flesh inside should remain perfectly edible.
Refrigerate them once they have achieved the preferred level of sweetness and softness, as the lower temperature slows further deterioration and grants several additional days of enjoyment. Sliced bananas can also be stored in the fridge within a sealed container.
The key takeaway is to keep bananas away from heat, direct sunlight and fruit bowls to preserve their freshness for longer.
