How do you store bananas?

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

How do you store bananas?

We dehydrate for longer term storage.

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.

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

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 (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.

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.

Yup! If I want type 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.