It’s no secret that bananas ripen super fast in any household if left on the counter or in the fruit bowl.
Now a kitchen expert has advised households to store their fresh bananas in a different way so that they stay yellow longer.
Mike van Kitchen tips online revealed that he experimented with two bunches of bananas to see which set would ripen faster.
As bananas naturally ripen, the peels release ethylene gas. The higher the concentration of ethylene in the air around the banana, the faster they ripen (File image)
As a banana ripens, much of the starch is converted to sugars, making it an excellent natural source of sweetness. Despite this, the public tends to throw away brown bananas – even though they are still edible (File image)
Using one method, he placed the fruit on his counter. And with the other bunch, he put them in an airtight container on his counter.
He placed an ethylene absorption ball in the container.
What this does is that it extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by removing the gases through an oxidation process, keeping the produce fresher for longer.
However, Mike admitted that almost a week passed before he noticed a ‘significant’ difference between the bunches.
He found that the bananas on the counter were “significantly softer than those in the container.”
And on day 15 there was still ‘a little bit of green’ on the bananas in the airtight packaging.
But when he sliced open the bananas from the airtight container, he noticed there was a “little bruise” on the fruit – but it was “still edible.”
As bananas naturally ripen, the peels release ethylene gas. The higher the ethylene concentration in the air around the banana, the faster they ripen.
The brown color comes from dark pigments, including melanin, which is found in human hair and skin.
In bananas, these pigments form when oxygen reacts with natural chemical compounds called phenols in the peel.
As a banana gets browner and browner, much of the starch is converted to sugars, making it an excellent natural source of sweetness.
Despite this, the public tends to discard brown bananas, even though they are still edible and ideal for use in baking recipes, such as banana bread.
Another way to slow down the ripening process of your bananas at home is to wrap cling film around the stems to trap the ethylene gas.
It is important that you wrap the stems of individual bananas, rather than the whole bunch together.
This is because when you wrap the stem separately and cover it completely, there are fewer places for the ethylene gas to leak out.
If, on the other hand, you want your bananas to ripen faster, it is advisable to put the fruit in a closed paper bag.
Mike from Kitchen Tips Online experimented by placing a bunch of bananas on his counter. And with the other bunch, he put them in an airtight container on his counter (File Image)
By doing this, this will retain the ethylene while also allowing enough oxygen in to continue the process.
When trying this technique it is important not to use a plastic bag as it does not let in enough oxygen and can actually inhibit ripening.
This is actually why bananas in the supermarket usually come in plastic bags – to prevent them from ripening too early.
Meanwhile, Professor Gordon Carlson, a gastric surgeon consultant with Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, told Good Health that he eats a relatively unripe banana every day to improve his gut health. The benefits of green bananas were confirmed in a large-scale review of 18 studies on their nutrition, published in the journal Nutrients in 2019.
This showed that green bananas can help with gastrointestinal symptoms (such as diarrhea and constipation) and diseases (such as colon cancer).
A green banana usually has a glycemic index (GI) of 30, compared to 58 for a ripe banana.
They may also help prevent or treat type 2 diabetes.