How ripe is too ripe for banana muffins?

Question

My uncle is a baker and is using very black bananas he's left in the fridge for at least a month. The bananas are starting to look all gross and wet and the muffins taste bad but he claims that black bananas turn into sugar and make the muffins taste better. Does anyone know where I can find proof that bananas can be too black ? Thank you.

The bananas are not in the peels anymore if that helps. And the muffins were really good awhile ago, so I don't think it's anything else. Nothing but the bananas has change in the recipe.

Answer 1

Banana skins ALWAYS turn black when you put them in the refrigerator. Now, if they are so ripe they are runny, nope, too old. Mushy is ok, liquified not. You still want the "banana" taste.

Answer 2

For banana muffins and banana bread, the blacker the better.

That said, bananas seem to change once you put them in the fridge...they just don't taste the same. That could be why the muffins don't taste good.

...and a month is waaaay too long, fridge or no fridge!

Are the bananas wet BEFORE he opens them? If so, that's definitely not a good sign. The bananas should be on the black side, but they shouldn't be oozing out the the peel.

Answer 3

I have many banana plants in my backyard. They are more for cooking but when they are very black on the peel they are just ripe inside for eating raw. Putting bananas in the frig does call the peal to turn black but the inside is quite okay to eat. It may taste a little different than the yellow peal ones. I think the blacker the peal the more intense the banana flavor.
A lot of countries cook bananas like potatoes, fried, sauteed or baked.
I'm with your uncle on this one.

Answer 4

My grandma (a baker in Europe before the war) said that if the banana peel is all black and the banana can't hold its shape when you hold it upright by the bottom, then its too old to use for baking anything.
Old bananas do have a lot of sugar, but that breaks down once the banana is too soft to hold upright and its not just sugar but also carbohydrates that taste bitter.

Answer 5

Your uncle is right! As bananas get overripe they get sweeter as more starch is converted to sugar. You can tell this yourself by tasting them. Also as they get more ripe they get softer so it's less trouble to mash them up!

I used to make incredible banana bread and I would always buy the ripest bananas, usually bananas that were half price because they looked so bad.

Answer 6

I put left over bananas in the freezer and they turn totally black. They also make an awesome banana bread. His muffins may not taste good for other reasons than the bananas.

Answer 7

Hmm, I dont know. I know that, i make mufins when my bananas START to go bad. Or else it doesnt taste good. Did you know that bananas soon might become extinct!

I did some resarch and i think, that yes. They can get too ripe.

Answer 8

Well, I don't have "proof", but I personally think they make the best muffins & banana bread when they have a lot of dark freckles on them, but not all black, that gets this weird taste that seems bitter to me. Like tannin in persimmons, it kinda makes your tongue pucker up.

Answer 9

As long as they are not moldy they can be very black. If he keeps them in the fridge they should be mold free. If not he will lose his customers or get them sick.

Black bananas do not turn to sugar. If they had yellow skins with brown flecks they are as sweet as they will ever get with all of their starch already turned to sugar. I think that is an old-baker's tale.

Answer 10

I would never leave any fruit that has been left in the fridge for a month. when my bananas are beyond the eating stage i put them in the freezer till ready to use for baking. They are a little gross when they defrost and you squeeze them out for baking; but I would never leave them in the fridge waiting for the fungi to come.