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How do you store bananas?

Anne Miller

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posted 3 weeks ago

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I have read a lot of different suggestions on how to get bananas to last longer.

How do you store bananas?

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John F Dean

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posted 3 weeks ago

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We dehydrate for longer term storage.

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Christopher Weeks

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You should not learn from me. I buy a bunch of bananas and put it in the fruit bowl. We usually eat half of them before they get nasty and then either make banana pancakes, or more frequently, move them to the compost. Then three weeks later I'll see bananas in the store and buy a great big bunch so that half of them can rot again. I have no idea why I have this recurring brain glitch. At least the worms love them.

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M Ljin

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posted 3 weeks ago

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I’ve always sliced and frozen them. Once frozen, they amount to a dessert. Then, if you melt chocolate over them…

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Carla Burke

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posted 3 weeks ago

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Hanging them by their stems, so that they're not in contact with anything else helps them stay fresh a few extra days. Beyond that, I like them frozen, but I do that in several ways. Some I'll cut into small chunks and freeze on a baking pan, for dog treats; some get cut or broken into somewhat bigger chunks to freeze for banana 'ice cream' or shakes; some get frozen whole, for later baking into banana cake, muffins, cupcakes, or bread; some get cut in half, and get a popsicle stick shoved into the cut end, then frozen.

For the ones that get the popsicle sticks, I melt chocolate (chips, bars, whatever) with a little bit of coconut oil (1T or so to each 1/2C of chocolate), and dip the frozen bananas in, to make 'monkey tails'. Sometimes, if I'm up for peanut butter & bananas, I'll melt some peanut butter, and add some coconut oil together, and dip the frozen bananas in that, for 'pb tails', and sometimes, I'll do them first into the peanut butter, let them harden a free minutes, then dip them in the chocolate, for 'crazy monkey tails'. Or, I'll do them in one or the other, then lay them on chopped nuts to harden, for a little extra crunch and flavor. It all just depends. If I know we're going to have company, sometimes, I'll make a big batch, ahead of time, for dessert for everyone.

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Tereza Okava

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posted 3 weeks ago

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Carla Burke wrote:Hanging them by their stems, so that they're not in contact with anything else helps them stay fresh a few extra days.

Yes, I always hang bananas. Just don't hang them directly over apples, unless you want them to ripen faster.

I live in bananaland and we usually have two bunches at all times- one hard and green (for next week), one ripe and sweet for eating that week.
Anything that gets too soft and squishy to eat fresh gets peeled and frozen for smoothies, baking, ice cream, etc. I almost always freeze them whole rather than freezing them mashed, chunked, sliced or whatever- they're usually easy enough to break up frozen.

My husband tends to compost bananas as soon as he sees black spots, but they're generally perfect for eating when they're like that, so I often rescue them.
And the rabbits LOVE banana peels almost as much as the fruit, so I make sure to give them to the rabbits.

Carla Burke

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Yup! If I want bananas, but can only get green ones, I'll also buy an apple, then put them together in a paper bag. Usually overnight is all it takes. Or at funny bunny, Lola used to do ANYTHING for a piece of banana. I sweat, if she had thumbs, she would have washed the dishes for payment in bananas. I use the peels for banana extract or banana peel tea, which is great for getting to sleep. If I'm sitting on a huge board of peels (I toss then in the freezer, or dehydrate them), then some might make it to compost or directly around the plants that need them.

Nancy Reading

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posted 2 weeks ago

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I've heard that taping the bunch together can help them keep longer - has anyone tried that?

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Mark Wyborny

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posted 2 weeks ago

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I peel them still firm but ripe and slice discs in zip lock bags of coconut flakes shake and freeze them. Keeping them frozen i take out what I want for a bowl of cereal. My dehydrator doesn't make the good kind of banana chips at the stores so I have the same question. How besides freezing can bananas be stored? I put in fridge whole and the peelings became dark, that doesn't help.

Christopher Weeks

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Nancy Reading wrote:I've heard that taping the bunch together can help them keep longer - has anyone tried that?

Like a strand of tape around the whole bunch? Our organic bananas started coming like that from a store a few (10?) years ago but I never knew why. (And the conventional ones don't.)

Nancy Reading

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Christopher Weeks wrote:Like a strand of tape around the whole bunch?

So I believe.

Everyone seems to like their bananas differently ripe. As long as they peel easily they're ripe, although I generally prefer on the riper side. If too ripe I (briefly) store as cake!

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Jill Dyer

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Interesting question. Not one I've considered before, as like Nancy, over ripe ones get stored (as if) as cake. I have found however that avocados will last when ripened on the bench for a couple of days after purchase, will store well in the section of the fridge where butter might go. Usually the shelves at the top of the door. One has the avocados, the other has medications and dried yeast.

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Ac Baker

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I got a whole heap (nearly three dozen) very ripe bananas a few weeks ago when it was still too hot to make ice cream let alone cake.

I froze them as puree in silicone moulds in muffin tins. Then turned them out into a freezer bag, so they fit better in the freezer.

Now I can grab a frozen 'banana muffin' every day, let it defrost, mix in a teaspoon of cocoa powder & boom: instant chocolate-banana pudding.

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Rez Zircon

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posted 1 week ago

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Once they turn black and squishy (but not moldy!), cut off one end, squeeze 3 or 4 bananas directly into a plastic bag, freeze (will keep a loooong time frozen). Use in next batch of banana bread.

I haven't tried dehydrating them but that sounds good.

There's only about three days in the life of a banana where I think it's edible fresh -- barely on the green side, so there's still that slightly salty taste. If they're getting beyond that, smear liberally with peanut butter, and salt the banana. After that, they're let turn black and go in the freezer.

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Su Ba

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Once our bananas get too ripe for eating out of hand, I simply plop them in the freezer still inside their peels. No cutting up, no plastic baggies—-just whole and as is. These we use for breakfast smoothies. I’ll take one or two out of the freezer and let them sit on the countertop for about 10 minutes or do as I work on making our breakfast smoothie and fresh coffee. Then take the banana, cut in half, squeeze the banana flesh out right into the blender. The now empty peel goes into the food for the pig(s).

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