Keeping bananas fresh

Like all fruits, banana can be a mess when not well stored. Keeping bananas fresh is a big issue due to the challenges of getting bruised, ripened or rotten.

Banana has a short timeline and can easily get brown with or without human effort towards quickening the process of ripening.

And while banana has its own span, there are ways to exercise control on the ripening process by engaging in specific storage procedures. This ensures that the banana is kept fresh and delicious for longer periods of time.

Depending on their ripeness when purchased, bananas will last on your countertop for a period of two to six days naturally. And for people that usually keep banana at home, having a holder with a hook to enable you to hang the banana eliminates the potential for bruising which is common when they lie on each other on a flat surface.

It is to also necessary to keep the fruits away from direct sunlight, as the heat from the sun can cause them to ripen rapidly.

And like it is with many fruits, refrigerating and freezing can extend the lives of bananas. You can store bananas in the fridge because a cool, dry climate slows the ripening process and if you put green, unripe bananas in the fridge, they’re likely to stay that way.

Just ensure the bananas are perfectly ripe before freezing them to avoid chilling injury which makes it not to get ripe again. It’s best to peel and slice the bananas before freezing them so they’re easy to work with when you’re ready to use them.

It should be noted that sliced bananas discolor quickly, so it’s best to avoid cutting into them until you’re ready to eat. However, if you sprinkle them with a little lemon juice, it lowers the pH levels and will keep browning at bay.

Following the lemon trick, put them in the fridge, either wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight food storage container or bag. Stored this way, sliced bananas can stay fresh for three to four days.

Generally, bananas do well in cool, dry places and will continue to ripen when left at room temperature. And once bananas are at their peak ripeness, you can store them in the fridge or freezer for later.

To keep bananas yellow for a longer period, wrap  the stems of a banana bunch in plastic because banana stems produce ethylene gas which spreads to the rest of the fruit spreading up the ripening process but the plastic contains the gas, keeping it from getting to the bananas and extending its shelf life.

However, if things get out of hand and you come home to a bunch of blackened bananas on your countertop, there’s always one answer: use it to make banana bread.

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