How to speed up or slow down the banana ripening process. Because sometimes you want to stretch that bunch out to last the week and sometimes you want it to hurry up and ripen.
The ubiquitous banana is one of the most universally liked and consistent fruit around. You pick up a ripe banana and you know exactly how it's going to taste all the time. Unlike a strawberry or a blueberry, which can sometimes be surprisingly sour, dry or even tasteless - a banana will never let you down. It will always taste like a banana.
That's exactly what makes it my favourite fruit. Not necessarily because of the taste, but because of the fact that no matter what, when I buy a banana I know what I'm getting. That was not the case with the grapes I bought last night which taste a lot like very small water balloons.
Bananas are the most dependable of all the berries.
Yes, berries. Google it. A banana is a berry. For something so mundane, bananas are actually filled with fun surprises. They're like one of those Gypsy wedding dresses that look basically normal until the moment the bride flicks a switch and it starts flashing lights and whirling live doves around.
Banana Facts
- Bananas are indeed considered a berry.
- Bananas make you happy. Like turkey, bananas have tryptophans and Vitamin B6 which helps your production of that feel good chemical - serotonin.
- Humans and bananas share 50% of their DNA.
- Bananas peels are scientifically proven to get rid of itchiness from bug bites, poison ivy and other miserable problems. Just rub the inside of the banana peel on the affected area. The inside of the peel contains a high amount of polysaccharides which relieve itch. Those polysaccharide molecules in the banana peel are ALSO what make it so slippery.
Told ya. Bananas are interesting. Gypsy level interesting!
The same night I bought the water balloon grapes, I also bought some oranges and greenish bananas. When I got home I thought I'd look up an old post of mine because in it I explained how to ripen bananas faster. I forgot my own information.
It happens.
You know when someone mentions something or says a word you've never heard before and you feel like an idiot? And then you suddenly notice that word or thing everywhere? Well, that happened to me a few years ago with bananas. Sort of.
Twice in as many days, two separate people, randomly, out of the blue, told me that bananas ripen at different speeds depending on whether you leave them in a bunch of separate them.
This was obviously a sign from the fruit Gods. At the very least, the Chiquita banana lady. I needed to find the truth about this. Was it possible? Did bananas really ripen differently depending on whether or not you pulled them apart?
This wasn't information I could just accept without some kind of proof.
This needed some detective work. So I put on my overcoat, my see-behind-you sunglasses which I got in a magic kit when I was 12 and went straight to the grocery store. I bought a bunch of completely green bananas all the while watching the guy behind me trying to slip a roast into his pants.
I separated two individual bananas from the bunch. So now I had 2 individual bananas and a bunch of bananas. Would one group ripen faster than the other?
Here are the results in technicolour video.
How to Ripen Bananas
Bananas left in a full bunch ripened almost twice as fast as bananas that were separated.
I only did this once, so it could have been a fluke, but the results are right there. The bananas in a bunch definitely ripened more quickly.
How to Make Bananas Ripen Faster.
How to make green bananas ripen faster at home.
Materials
- 1 bunch of bananas
Instructions
- Keep your bananas in a bunch and store them in a paper bag to help trap the ethylene gas.
- Check them daily.
Notes
Conversely, if you want your bananas to ripen more slowly separate them and keep them away from each other.
The Results
Bananas that were kept in a bunch ripened at about twice the rate as bananas that were separated.
Either way, once they were ripened, they all tasted exactly like a banana (with a slight Gypsy aftertaste.)
Seeing as I like my bananas so green most other people won't eat them, I shall have to try this! I have so many (over)ripe bananas in my freezer, since smoothies is the only thing they're good for after the first day or two. :)
I didn't read through all the posts but Banana's will also ripen other foods next to them faster - potatoes, avocados, etc. True Fact.
We bought a banana hanging stand a while back. A little stand that sits on the counter to suspend one bunch of bananas off the counter. I guess that gives them more air circulation to slow ripening over letting them sit in a bowl.
Thanks for sharing! I love bananas but I only like them perfectly ripe so there’s only a small window left to eat them then half of them go bad. My covid 19lb diet said I can’t have banana bread either. As a result, I’ve been reluctantly skipping bananas when I buy groceries. I’m so excited that I get to buy them again!
Banana peels also help loosen a splinter. Just cut a square out of the peel and put a band aid or tape to hold it in place overnight. In the morning, the splinter will slip right out!
Really??!! That's fun info. ~ karen
Excellent. Also my favorite fruit!. I make a smoothie every day for breakfast and a banana (preferably half green) is a must. Two more banafacts > the riper they are the more sugar content...and... If you eat a banana before bed you will sleep better.
Thanks Karen. Always had a problem when getting food delivery that they ripen too fast and I can't pick different colors out myself. Thanks.
That's the thing about food delivery! :/ ~ karen!
Im going to the kitchen right now and pull off two. I have a bunch and as a single person, they always ripen too fast. I love this.
A few comments mentioned bananas at the store with stems wrapped in plastic. This has nothing to do with ripening. Most bananas are treated with pesticides, but not organic ones. So the stems are wrapped in plastic to keep a specific banana pest from burrowing into the stems. Plastic wrapped stems - organic. Uncovered stems - non-organic.
Did not know that
Thank you for sharing.
Your conclusion that separating them is correct. Further to this though, if you also elevate them so that there is good air circulation around each banana, this will help to further dissipate the ethylene gas and heat that facilitates ripening, and also lead to more even ripening of each banana. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn4p6WnGOmg&t=2s
Hey K... just to add to this. When I bought my 'nanners at Costco this week, I noticed that the packer had shrink-wrapped the stem of the bunch in plastic film. I presume it was to stop each bunch from releasing ripening gases and thereby allow for longer storage before I picked them up.
Perhaps they're reading your blog, too. ;)
Sorry, but I have to disagree with your conclusion. One test can not be conclusive as you can't be sure the two bananas you separated from the bunch would not have ripened more slowly if still part of the bunch.
The test would need to be repeated many more times with the same result for a significant percentage of tests before you could have any confidence in the conclusion.
OH I'm sorry, you thought you were reading a scientific journal apparently. You're not. It's a blog. Also, this test has been proven time and time again, I was simply doing my own test of it to confirm the results. ~ karen
🤣🤣🤣
Yay! Hubby and I prefer bananass at very different stages if ripeness--now I can keep a couple a little greener for me now. He just bought some, too so you know how exciting this blog is to me. (Yeah--been cooped up waaaaay too long. Just about a dozen ventures out into the world of Covid since it started--you are my life line!)
😉😄😄
Yaaasss, Karen! 👏🏻
I can't imagine why you would even read this light-hearted blog! I've been separating bananas for years because they DO ripen slower.
I am a truck driver I am asked when I load bananas in the truck when was the last time I hauld applesm. I am NOT allowed to haul apples 1 week before I haul the bananas..Post said the gases from the apples or right on the bananas they are correct I have seen truckloads of bananas rejected at the loading dock because they did not arrived freshalso most or change have special rooms at their regional distribution centers just for storing bananas and nothing else
I am always wanting to know the "why" of things. I understand the seperating the bunch and keeping away from apples. But why does wrapping the stem keep them from ripening!? My google skills are failing me
Compliments on a very nice blog ... and some very good observations about banana ripening.
Some of you are very close in homing in on one important factor, heat. Very good comments on gassing which is as natural and organic as it comes, but once bananas are exposed to ethylene gas, they take over by themselves.
Once they are triggered by the ethylene, they start producing heat. Whether the heat occurs in a commercial ripening facility or on your counter does not matter. More heat, more ripening.
So, if you control the heat, you control the ripening.
Commercially, bananas are harvested and immediately washed to remove "field heat" then packed and loaded aboard ships either on pallets or containerized like Chiquita does. In either case, they are refrigerated with a target temp of 58 degrees or so. Colder and they will chill, hotter and they may randomly start to produce some stray ethylene on their own which will lead to disaster. Bananas need to arrive in port green. Chiquita does begin the ripening on some containers by introducing gas during transit. Otherwise, the commercial banana ripener will initiate the gassing himself after stabilizing the temperatures.
Much of today's ripeners work with "load" quantities which 20 pallets of 48 boxes each totaling 960 boxes. The goal is to ripen all of the bananas to the same stage of color for acceptable delivery to the supermarkets.
The ripener carefully monitors the pulp temperatures of the bananas with a probe while introducing the gas at about 61 degrees. Once the bananas start to ripen their heat MUST be controlled by venting/cooling the fruit. Kind of tricky since it is a game of anticipating the amount of ripening. Normally, five to six days and the bananas are ready for delivery. If the ripener needs to hurry production, he will allow the bananas to heat up more, sometimes 63 or 64 degrees. The result is ripening that even after the fruit is cooled will continue to ripen quickly in the store ... and on your counter.
If you consistently get bananas that ripen too fast at home even though you are careful with them, suspect that your supermarket distribution center or supplier is rushing his ripening.
So, bananas bunched together will ripen faster because of the concentrated heat. Ask you produce guy what the first thing he's supposed to do when he gets his banana delivery which is sometimes daily. He should tell you he "pops the tops off the boxes" and ventilates them (unless in a really colder area of the country which is a separate chill problem).
Obviously much more to banana ripening than this probably too long comment about an excellent fruit, usually the number revenue item in the supermarkets produce section.
Thanks for listening.
Jose, that was fascinating information! Thank you for sharing. That answers a lot of questions I have often had about bananas.
I'm looking forward to following your blog.