How to Store Bananas So They Don't Turn Brown (2024)

FAQs

How to Store Bananas So They Don't Turn Brown? ›

Open Air Is Better Than an Enclosed Container

To preserve peeled bananas, take a tablespoon of lemon juice and brush it over the banana. Lime juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice will work as well.

The ideal place to store bananas is on a countertop, away from direct sunlight. They do well in cool, dry places and will continue to ripen when left at room temperature. What is the best way to keep bananas fresh longer? Once bananas are at their peak ripeness, you can store them in the fridge or freezer for later.

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.

Storing at Room Temperature on the Counter

A hook prevents the fruit from bruising, which can expedite rotting. Direct sunlight and its heat also expedite things. The ideal storage temperature for bananas is around 54 degrees F. Room temperature is fine, but the warm kitchen certainly isn't ideal.

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.

Wrap banana stems in plastic wrap

Wrapping those stems with plastic wrap or aluminum foil slows down the ripening process. Some grocery stores sell bunches of bananas with plastic wrap already on the stems. For best results, take your bananas apart when you get home and wrap the stems individually.

Bananas are picked green and ideally kept at a temperature of 57 degrees for shipping. Much colder than that will turn them rotten. Before they hit the produce department at the store, they're placed in an air-tight ripening vault filled with ethylene gas.

There are a few cautionary points to keep in mind when refrigerating your bananas. Bananas are very temperature sensitive, so the cold temperature of the fridge will cause the skin of the bananas to darken after a few days, at which point they should be discarded.

Can I store bananas in a Ziploc bag? ›

Remove bananas from plastic produce bags as soon as you get them home. Never store bananas in plastic bags, which hold too much moisture and could cause the fruit to rot.

Bananas, like many fruits, release ethylene gas naturally, which controls enzymatic browning and ripening of not just itself, but other fruits nearby. Much of that offgassing takes place at the stem—or the crown—of the banana. By wrapping the crown of a bunch, you slow down the ripening process a bit.

You can take advantage of ethylene's ripening properties at home by putting your banana into a closed paper bag; the paper will trap ethylene while letting in enough oxygen to help move the process along. For even faster ripening, add an apple, pear, apricot, or avocado — they also release ethylene.

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.

The cold temperature of your fridge encourages an enzyme (polyphenyl oxidase) naturally found in the banana to polymerise phenols in the banana skin into polyphenols . Polyphenols are similar to melanin, the pigment responsible for the colour in our skin. This is what blackens the skin of the bananas.