Kids are heading back to school, which means parents are back to making early morning breakfasts and packing lunches and snacks. Bananas are delicious, affordable, and easy for on the go. But the way you store your bananas has a huge impact on how long they stay fresh, and there’s nothing worse than an overripe, mushy banana.
We tested seven popular methods for keeping bananas fresh in our banana storage showdown and were surprised and delighted by the results. Compared with the control of just leaving bananas on the countertop at room temperature (which so many of us do), the following three simple storage tricks led to considerably longer-lasting freshness.
Wrap Banana Stems with Plastic Wrap
Ripening is caused by ethylene gas, which is naturally released from banana stems. So, covering them is one way to help slow down the ripening process. Keep your bananas in a bunch, then wrap just the exposed stems with a piece of plastic wrap. This should give you a couple extra days to enjoy them before they cross over into banana-bread-ready territory.
Store Bananas in a Plastic Produce Bag
There are all different schools of thought when it comes to this method (some sources warn against it!). Our tester tried it out in a reusable BPA-free sealable bag and was shocked by the results. After 6 days, the bag “was puffed out, as if some gas had been released and inflated the bag a bit,” but the banana was a “pristine yellow” and the banana itself was “intensely creamy.”
Wrap Banana Stems with Aluminum Foil
Similar to the above method of wrapping stems in plastic wrap, we also tried wrapping them with aluminum foil. The biggest difference is that aluminum foil helps better contain the gas, making it the most effective method we tried. (A 9.5 out of 10!) The bananas remained bright yellow and had minimal spots at the end of the testing period, and the flavor was ultimately the best.
How do you store bananas? Let us know if you’ve tried any of these tricks in the comments below.