Bananas can go from green to mushy in the blink of an eye, but storing them correctly could make them last much longer. According to Amy Cross from The Cross Legacy on YouTube, the key is where you keep them in your home.
Keep Bananas Away From Other Fruit
Amy Cross advises not to store bananas in a fruit bowl next to apples or oranges, as they cause each other to spoil more rapidly. She recommends storing bananas "three feet away from any produce" and using a hook to hang them, ensuring it is positioned away from other fruits.
Organic Bananas Last Longer
Cross discovered that organic bananas remain fresher for longer because they are not treated with chemicals. She notes that if bananas appear yellow and ripe at purchase, they will likely become "black overripe bananas" within a few days, which is ideal for banana bread but not always planned. Organic bananas "ripen slower," making them a worthwhile purchase.
Seal Stems to Prevent Ethylene Gas
Placing a seal over the banana stems stops ethylene gas from spreading, keeping the fruits fresher for considerably longer. Cross also suggests opening bananas from the opposite end by pinching it, which is easier and mimics how monkeys open them.
Storing Cut Bananas
If you do not want to eat an entire banana, Cross recommends keeping the peel on, cutting it, and storing it in a glass jar to return to later. When bananas start to go bad, she freezes them by cutting into longer slices and flash freezing overnight. These frozen slices can be used in smoothies or nibbled after a few minutes out of the freezer.
Viewers Praise the Hack
In the comments section, viewers praised the storage hack, noting they had "learned something new." One user commented: "Thanks for the tips. There's always room for new ideas. A few years ago, I saw a vid, I think it was in a zoo, and the monkeys were opening the bananas from the other end like you just showed us, I figured then that they were obviously brighter than me, so since then I've been doing the same! and it's far easier."
