How to Keep Your Bananas From Turning Brown

How do you like your bananas? Ice cream sundae or banana split? On top of your oatmeal or cereal? Protein shake? Or maybe you just eat this potassium powerhouse fruit straight.

Unless you want them to ripen for banana bread, boy are they a pain in the you-know-what when it comes to staying fresh. Like many people, when I buy them at the grocery store, I pick up one of the bundles of bananas if I can’t find a small one, and rip off the number I think I can get through before they turn brown. That’s usually no more than 3-4 at a time.

Here are 3 tips to help preserve your bananas longer.

TIP #1

According to the All Recipes website, the absolute best thing you can do with every single banana you want to keep fresh longer than a couple of days or so is to wrap the stems in plastic wrap. The stems produce the ethylene gas that ripens the fruit (and anything around it), so the plastic is a barrier from that gas that will extend the longevity of the fruit.

TIP #2

If you want to keep your bananas at room temperature, according to the Master Class website, keep them out of the sunlight which expedites riping, and don’t put them in a fruit bowl with other ethylene gas-producing fruits like apples, pears, peaches, kiwi, and avocados. Also, handle them gently because bruising expedites ripening.

TIP #3

If you like to refrigerate or freeze your bananas then make sure they’re completely ripe before doing so according to All Recipes. If they’re not ripe yet then they will turn brown because the cold completely stops bananas from ripening. According to Master Class, let them sit out openly, too rather than putting them in a closed container so the gas isn’t trapped.