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Is it not a delight to have on hand a diet of perfectly ripe bananas, ready to be snacked or baked? But all too often, they seem to go from green to overmaturity in the blink of an eye. However, there is a simple trick to keep your bananas fresh longer, and that means something as simple as a common cooking article: food film.
Why do bananas ripen so fast?
Bananas release ethylene gas, a natural vegetable hormone that helps with maturation. When the bananas are grouped together, the ethylene gas concentrates around them, thereby speeding up the maturation process. It is ideal if you want to eat them soon, but not so much if you hope to enjoy them gradually.
The Easiest Trick: the Food Film
Here's a simple trick to prolong the freshness of your bananas: wrap the stems of a food film. That's it. Here's how to do it:
- Separate your bananas: First, detach each banana from the bouquet. This step is crucial because it minimizes the amount of ethylene gas to which each banana is exposed from its neighbors.
- Wrap the stems: Take a small piece of food film and hermetically cover the stems of each banana. The rod is where most of the ethylene gas is released, so by wrapping it, you essentially track the gas and slow down the maturation process.
- Keep your bananas packed at room temperature on a banana hanger or bowl. Avoid storing bananas in a refrigerator unless they are already at your preferred level of maturity, as cold temperatures may cause the skin to darken prematurely.
Additional advice on the storage of bananas
following the next page
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