Bananas have an unfortunate tendency to turn brown, spotted and even soft within days of purchase, but supermarket giant Morrisons suggests the way you're storing them could be the culprit. It's crucial to be mindful about where you keep fruit during the summer months, as higher temperatures will accelerate ripening and swiftly attract flies.
Why the Fruit Bowl Is a Bad Choice
Many people simply place bananas in a fruit bowl upon returning from the shops, but this is in fact one of the least suitable places to store them. Natalie from Morrisons explained that bananas shouldn't be kept alongside other fruit because they naturally emit ethylene gas, which accelerates spoilage of everything nearby.
She said: "Don't keep bananas next to other fruit as the bananas release a gas called ethylene that will cause your fruits to ripen too quickly. Don't keep ripe bananas in a plastic bag either as this seals the ethylene in and causes them to go brown/black."
The Science Behind Ethylene Gas
Ethylene gas is a plant hormone that certain fruits emit through their stems, assisting them to ripen and become softer and more flavoursome for consumption. However, bananas are known to produce considerable amounts of ethylene, and when stored alongside other fruit, it can lead to excessive gas accumulation in the air surrounding a fruit basket.
Bananas are highly susceptible to ethylene, even though they produce considerable amounts of it themselves, and storing them in a fruit basket will not only cause them to ripen quickly, but will also spoil any other fruit nearby. If you're looking to maintain bananas' yellow colour for considerably longer, simply keep them apart from your fruit bowl and position them separately on your kitchen worktop.
Best Practices for Banana Storage
Maintaining banana freshness is essentially about reducing the impact of ethylene gas, and it's straightforward to achieve, requiring less than five minutes of your time. After you've removed bananas from the fruit bowl, it's beneficial to separate them, as they'll ripen more quickly when kept together in a bunch because they can concentrate ethylene gas around one another.
It will also prove useful to cover each banana stem in tin foil or clingfilm, as this will restrict the quantity of ethylene gas released into the air, which helps the fruit stay yellow for considerably longer. Covering bananas typically keeps them fresh for at least an additional week, though it's been known to extend their life by around 10 to 14 days.
Additional Tips for Longevity
Store them away from warm spots in your kitchen, such as windows or the cooker, and they'll remain fresh for at least a week longer than if you'd left them in your fruit bowl. Once your bananas begin to turn brown, you can place them in the fridge as the cold temperature helps inhibit ethylene gas, but green bananas shouldn't be refrigerated, as the cold stops them from ripening correctly.
