How Ripe Should Bananas Be For Banana Pudding? - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

How ripe does a banana need to be for banana pudding? ›

You want your bananas ripe, but not browning too much (like you'd look for in banana bread). Choose bananas that are slightly ripe; yellow with little brown specks. Lemon juice. The best way to avoid brown bananas is to toss them in a a little bit of lemon juice before laying them on top of the Nilla wafers.

For best ripening results, humidity should be 85 to 95%. If the humidity is too low, install a humidifier; wetting the floor of the room with water may increase the humidity but may cause sanitation issues. Apply ethylene for a minimum of 24 hours during the initial phase of the ripening cycle.

A ripe banana will be bright yellow, possibly with green tips (less ripe) or some brown spots peppering its peel (more ripe). The fruit will be firm but easily sliced with a blunt butter knife.

Bananas are incredibly tasty and easy to eat. What's more, they're rich in many essential vitamins and minerals. Most people eat bananas when the fruit is yellow and ripe, but green unripe bananas are also safe to eat. However, some people dislike their taste and texture.

According to a spokesperson for the FDA, "Generally, as long as it is not visibly moldy, it is safe." Rogers concurs, saying he hasn't seen any studies linking foodborne illness to eating extremely ripe bananas.

However, you also shouldn't expect banana pudding to last longer than a day or so. Beyond that, the bananas will start to darken wherever some of the pudding has been spooned out, exposing them to air. You may just need to treat banana pudding as a fleeting pleasure and plan accordingly.

Flour, at least in my experience, can make the finished dish a little grainy. I also use vanilla beans in my recipe because as the custard cooks the beans infuse the pudding with their rich, aromatic flavor.

How Do You Keep Banana Pudding From Getting Watery? As banana pudding sits, the bananas will release water into the mixture, making the pudding slightly watery. The best way to combat this is to serve and enjoy the pudding freshly made.

Place bananas in a warm spot such as a sunny window or near a heating vent. Keep the bunch of bananas together. Their friends will help speed the process along. Depending on how green they are, and where on the banana ripeness spectrum you prefer them, they should ripen in 24 hours to 5 days.

How do you know when bananas are too ripe? ›

Rotten bananas will often have a fermented or alcohol-like smell. While it's okay if the banana peel is dark brown or even black, if the inside is too, then the fruit is beyond ripe and now on its way to rotten. Another sign that bananas have gone bad is if they start leaking any fluids.

The bananas for the pudding must be very ripe. Green bananas won't taste much. Bring the milk and bananas to a boil. Set it aside to let the milk infuse with the bananas.

While it's okay if the banana peel is dark brown or even black, if the inside is too, then the fruit is beyond ripe and now on its way to rotten. Another sign that bananas have gone bad is if they start leaking any fluids. When in doubt, just toss the bananas out.