Can you keep bananas in the refrigerator

Last Updated: May 6, References Tested. To create this article, 30 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.

There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. The wikiHow Culinary Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 1,, times. Learn more Available year round, portable, sweet and creamy, bananas are a convenient way to add key nutrients to your diet. Bananas are high in vitamins, potassium, soluble fiber and protease inhibitors, which help remove stomach bacteria. Studies have found that regularly eating bananas helps maintain heart function, blood pressure levels, bone density, vision, digestion and kidney health.

Buy bananas fresh and store them for future use. To store bananas, first separate them from the bunch. Then, slow down the ripening process by wrapping the stem of each banana with plastic wrap. Wrapping the stems will slow down the release of Ethylene, a gas that causes fruit to ripen quickly. Next, place the bananas in the fridge, away from other fruits and vegetables.

Store them for weeks. To store bananas for even longer, first peel the bananas. Then, slice the bananas into inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place them in the freezer for 2 hours. Next, transfer the frozen slices into a resealable bag or container, and store for up to 6 months.

Try your frozen bananas in smoothies or baking! If you want to learn how to freeze bananas to use them later, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you?

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Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Part 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Choose bananas based on their degree of ripeness. Depending on when you want to use them and how you wish to store them, you may want them to be more or less ripe. If you're shopping just for yourself, then you may want greener bananas so they aren't all ripe right away.

If you're shopping for a family or a few people who will eat them quickly, then ripe bananas are the way to go. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing your bananas: Green bananas are not ripe yet. Buy green bananas for maximum storage life without freezing. Choose firm fruit without dark spots or abrasions on the peel. Ripe bananas have turned their adult color. Most bananas are yellow when ripe, but some varieties are brown or red. The more the banana's adult color appears on the peel, the riper it is.

Brown-spotted bananas are the sweetest. As the small brown spots grow on the peel, the fruit inside ripens even further. When the peel shows more brown or black than yellow, the fruit is over-ripe. Avoid bananas that have a gray tint and look dull in color. This is a sign that the bananas were refrigerated, which interferes with proper ripening. Remove bananas from plastic produce bags as soon as you get them home. Never store bananas in plastic bags, which hold too much moisture and could cause the fruit to rot.

There is an alternative theory. The bananas may remain fresh longer inside the bag; take one out and leave the rest in the bag to test this. If the one that is removed ripens faster, then the bag may prove capable of retaining freshness.

However, this may depend on the humidity and heat levels in the room where you're storing the bananas. Store green bananas at room temperature. Refrigerating or freezing bananas before they ripen prevents the fruit from being able to properly ripen even after brought back to room temperature.

Put green bananas into a brown paper bag to speed up the ripening process. Add an apple or a tomato to the bag to ripen the bananas in less than 1 day.

Essentially, the cool temperature causes the starch to crystalize far more rapidly than at room temperature, speeding up the process that makes bread hard and stale. Not even after you take them out of the fridge. And their skin will turn black. Bananas are a tropical fruit and have no natural defence against the cold in their cell walls. Putting garlic in the fridge or in plastic bags can make it go mouldy. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies.

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The old rule of storing bananas exclusively on the counter, in a pretty fruit bowl, is dated. Bananas are a tropical fruit that need warmth to ripen.

Putting the banana in a cold fridge will instantly slow the ripening process. The peel will get spots and turn brown, but the fruit will stay the same as the time you put it in the fridge, prolonging the lifespan of your bananas for an additional week or even two.

The most important factor to keep in mind before putting bananas in the refrigerator is to wait until they are perfectly ripe for your tastes. Bananas are a friendly fruit and will gladly lend out their smell and flavor to some of the other things in your fridge, like bread and desserts. The most common way of keeping bananas longer is by wrapping the stems in plastic cling wrap.

This prevents some of that gas bananas give off from reaching any other nearby fruit. This method is more efficient and convenient in the long run if you separate all the bananas and wrap each banana individually. You can also hang your bananas on a banana tree away from sunlight. This prevents the bottoms from bruising and allows even airflow. If you want to ripen bananas more quickly, they can be stored in an open paper bag with other types of fruit that are already ripe.

Check out this video by Kitchen Tips Online on YouTube for more tips on keeping bananas fresher for longer. Check Current Price on Amazon. If you hate bruised bananas and want to take extra precautions against them, you can keep your bananas safe in a specially designed storage container, like the one from Joie Monkey.

Biggest Drawback : The only downfall to these pods is minor. If you happen to have a banana that has a significant curve to it, it might not fit quite right. What if you have a whole bunch of bananas that you need to keep from over-ripening to quickly? Fruits give off some gas after they have been cut from their tree. This gas is what accelerates the ripening process causing bananas to go from green to mush almost overnight.

You need to control the gas leak before it becomes a problem. Fridge GreenBags are terrific if you have a bunch of bananas to store, whether it be on the counter or in your refrigerator. Biggest Drawback: The only downfall with the GreenBags is the occasional accumulation of moisture.

But this is easily fixed by placing a paper towel inside the bag before you put your produce in them. Have you noticed that the bananas in your favorite produce section are always nearly perfect? There are two reasons for this anomaly. Some people prefer their bananas to stay green.