3 Easy Ways To Prevent Bananas From Turning Brown Too Quickly (2024)

Whenever I bring home bananas from the grocery store they seem to turn from green to brown and mushy overnight. Though I can always bake banana bread—overripe bananas are a gift—I do want to enjoy perfectly ripe bananas over a few days.

3 Easy Ways To Prevent Bananas From Turning Brown Too Quickly (1)

As a banana ripens, it gets sweeter, softer, more aromatic, and browner. That discoloration isn't a sign that the fruit's gone bad. It's a natural part of the ripening process, and the browner, generally the riper and sweeter the fruit. Find out how to store your bananas so that they stay perfectly speckled, sweet, and not mushy for longer.

3 Easy Ways To Prevent Bananas From Turning Brown Too Quickly (2)

3 Tips for Storing Bananas

The best way to keep your bananas fresh for as long as possible? Buy them when they're still a little green then follow these three tips:

1. Keep Bananas Out of the Fruit Bowl

Fruits like apples, pears, avocados, and peaches release ethylene as they ripen, which will cause the bananas to ripen faster. That is why you should keep them out of the fruit bowl if you don't want them to ripen too quickly.

2. Store Bananas in a Cool and Dark Place

According to Dole, the ideal storage temperature is 54°F (12°C). Any cooler, your bananas will stop ripening and the peel will turn black. Any warmer, your bananas will ripen rapidly—that's why a warm kitchen isn't the ideal place to store your bananas. Also, keep them away from direct sunlight.

3. Open Air Is Better Than an Enclosed Container

Don't store bananas in a bag or an enclosed container—that'll only hasten the ripening process. It's best to store bananas in the open air, ideally hung so that they don't bruise. This happens when the bananas lay on top of each other.

The Refrigerator Will Stop the Bananas From Ripening

The first and maybe only rule that you need to know when it comes to storing bananas: avoid the fridge, especially before they're ripe. Bananas are tropical fruits, and, in general, tropical fruits don't handle cold storage well.

Placing anunripe banana in the fridgewill stall the fruit's ability to ripen, the peel will turn black, and according to the experts at Chiquita Bananas, "they may not be able to resume the ripening process even if they are returned to room temperature." Also, put an already brown banana into the fridge and it'll turn mushy faster.

3 Easy Ways To Prevent Bananas From Turning Brown Too Quickly (3)

How Ripe Is Too Ripe?

If you refrigerate your bananas, the time to do it is when it's got some brown speckles, indicating the starch has turned to sugar. As Harold McGee explains inOn Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, "Once a fruit is ripe, it can be refrigerated with relatively little discoloration of the flesh," though he notes, "the peel will still turn black."

Those black bananas are still usable, even if they look very very dark Christina Tosi of Milk Bar even swears by using them to makebanana cream pie. As she wrote forLucky Peach, her secret "to getting the most banana flavor is using bananas that are ripe to the point of being completely black and mushy. You can’t be scared of a banana at this stage. I’m not going to lie; they’re a little bit funky, but they’re the ideal bananas for pie."

A version of this article originally appeared onMyRecipes.com.

3 Easy Ways To Prevent Bananas From Turning Brown Too Quickly (2024)

FAQs

3 Easy Ways To Prevent Bananas From Turning Brown Too Quickly? ›

Bananas release ethylene, a gas which controls ripening. Most of the ethylene is released from the stems of the bananas, so if you want to slow down ripening, simply wrap the stems in foil or clingfilm. Problem solved!

How do you keep bananas from turning yellow so fast? ›

Bananas release ethylene, a gas which controls ripening. Most of the ethylene is released from the stems of the bananas, so if you want to slow down ripening, simply wrap the stems in foil or clingfilm. Problem solved!

How do you make bananas age slower? ›

Wrap the stems in plastic wrap, and hang them from a hook or a bit of string to improve air flow. Once your bananas are ripe, pop them in the fridge or freezer to keep them ripe for longer. Coat your peeled bananas in lemon or lime juice, vinegar, or vitamin C to create a barrier that helps prevent browning.

Where do you put bananas so they don't turn brown? ›

If they're still green, don't put them in the fridge. The dry, cool atmosphere slows down the ripening process, so green bananas likely won't progress beyond that. Room temperature would be the choice here, away from direct sunlight. Just remember, cool + dry = perfect.

How do you keep bananas fresh for 15 days in water? ›

All you need to do is dip their stems in water, and voilà - fresh 'nanas to last you an extra couple of weeks. Imagine it's like giving your bananas a little pool day.

How do you keep bananas fresh in foil? ›

Cover the stem ends of each banana with plastic wrap or aluminium foil to reduce the release of ethylene gas. Bananas release high amounts of ethylene gas, which accelerates the proces of browning. Thus, to slow it down, separate the bananas from the bunch and then store them.

How do you keep bananas without fruit flies? ›

Banana Enthusiast's Guide: Tips and Tricks to Keep Fruit Flies at...
  1. The Mighty Fruit Bowl: The first line of defense against fruit flies is your fruit bowl. ...
  2. Store Fruit Properly: ...
  3. Seal It Up: ...
  4. Cover Food Scraps: ...
  5. Clean, Clean, Clean: ...
  6. Vinegar Trap: ...
  7. Cover with Screens: ...
  8. Monitor Your Garbage:

How do you keep bananas yellow and firm for 20 days? ›

“The ethylene gas is released from the stem of the banana, so to slow the impact of the gas and avoid them over-ripening too quickly, you can also wrap the stems in a plastic wrap or cling film.

How do you keep bananas from turning brown in a lunchbox? ›

Acid. Fruit gets brown because it oxidizes. Acid will stop that. Rubbing a cut lemon or dunking them in water with some lemon juice should do the trick.

Does aluminum foil make bananas last longer? ›

Thus, foil wrap is a better way to preserve bananas than cling wrap. Potential errors and shortcomings of our process could have affected the results of our experiment. Although the sizes of the cling wrap and foil were roughly equal, cling wrap was stretchier and could be wrapped around the banana multiple times.

Do bananas last longer in a plastic bag? ›

Ditch the Plastic Bag

Bananas that are stored in plastic bags will ripen faster. Instead, keep your bananas at room temperature in a cool, dark place to be sure they receive fresh, well-ventilated air. Bananas sitting in direct sunlight or near the stove will shrivel up and turn brown at a faster rate.

Do bananas last longer in the fridge or on the counter? ›

But if you have a banana that you want to keep perfectly ripe for a few more days, move it to the refrigerator. The cool temperatures help slow down the ripening process so the banana won't turn to mush for a bit longer. Don't worry if the peel turns brown or even black in the fridge; the fruit should still be good.

Where is the best place to keep bananas? ›

Keep them cool and protected from the light: Bananas should be stored at around 12°C, as they will ripen quicker if they are too warm. Pop them into the fridge: If you want to store your bananas correctly, you can certainly store them in the fridge.

How long can bananas sit out before turning brown? ›

Unpeeled bananas typically last longer than peeled bananas because the skin protects the fruit from exposure to air and slows down the ripening process. A green, unripe banana can last up to two weeks when stored at room temperature, while a ripe banana will typically last for 2-7 days.

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