Bananas, no spots please?

Question

I have heard that keeping bananas away from other fruit keeps them fresher for longer. But my bananas keep going all spotty and brown really fast. I like them slightly firm but can't seem to keep them and end up throwing them away. Does anyone know how to keep bananas longer.
Thank you for your time.

Have tried buying them really green but within a couple of days they not fit for consumption.

I tried putting them in the fridge but they went brown from top to toe. Looked a bit weird.

Answer 1

Buy a 'tree' to hang them on so that oxygen can circulate around the fruit.Keep them out of sunlight and in a cool place.They go black if you keep them in the fridge though.

Answer 2

No, you got it wrong, you have to keep bananas away so the rest of the fruit don't ripen too soon. Bananas give a gas that helps the ripening process in most fruits and vegetables. Putting them in the fridge makes them get spotty sooner. To be honest with you, they just plain don't keep, it's best to buy them in small quantities and eaten asap.

On the other hand, you can peel them, wrap them in aluminium foil and freeze them. They make great ice lollys without doing anythig else to them and you can defrost them too and they should be ok, but it takes time.

Answer 3

Buy them greener.

Buy less, shop more often.

Hang them on a proper banana rack.

Keep a few in the fridge at first, but as you say, away from other fruit.

Any combination of the above will add a little time to your bananas, but as a foot note, they aren't actually 'ripe' until they are soft and dark. We are just not used to eating fruit in that condition as if it were domestic fruit (apples pears etc) we would rightly consider it had gone bad by then :o)

Answer 4

Avoid bruised fruit and bananas showing splits in the skin. Choose firm, green to slightly yellow bunches, and store them at room temperature. It is claimed that bananas taste sweeter ripened off the plant. Eat or prepare bananas when they ripen to a uniform yellow with tiny brown flecks. The skin of bananas turns black when they are refrigerated, though it does not affect the quality of the fruit inside. Very ripe fruit can be peeled, frozen in freezer bags, and used for baking. Plantains should be unbruised, very firm, and completely green. Use before they are ripe. Note that plantains are at their ripest when their skin is black.
Choose brightly colored bananas with green tips.
Avoid bananas with dull or gray tones.
Feel the bananas to make sure they are plump and firm.
Avoid bananas with blemished, split or sunken skin, or those that have a strong smell - they are probably overripe.
Store bananas at room temperature.

Be careful when handling bananas, as they bruise easily.
A few brown spots on the skin are normal.
Storing bananas in the refrigerator will make the skins turn black, but you can still eat them.
To ripen green bananas, put them in a paper bag.

Answer 5

Keep your bananas upside down i.e. curved side up and buy them as green as possible. Keeping away from the light also helps.

Answer 6

As bananas ripen quickly, it's inevitable that they will turn brown. However there's loads of recipes that you can use bananas in: cakes, banana custard, banana fool, jams, banana flambées, etc. So don't throw them away.

Answer 7

i buy my bananas as green as i can get they last longer and keep away from fruit and if they are in a plastic bag remove that ,

Answer 8

Buy them very green and then keep them on a cool part of your counter.

Answer 9

banans ripen very fast so buy them slightly green that way they will last a lot longer

Answer 10

Keep them out of the heat. If you keep them on your kitchen table, make sure the sun doesn't shine directly on it.