+15 votes
Seriously, my bananas go from perfectly yellow to 'prime for banana bread' in about 0.5 nanoseconds. It's ridiculous, lah. I buy a fresh bunch, thinking I'll be healthy, and two days later, they're looking like they've been left in the sun for a week.

I've tried separating them, wrapping the stems in cling film – basically everything the internet *says* works, but it feels like an urban legend more than anything. Is there any *actual* effective trick to prevent rapid banana browning? Because my smoothie game is suffering, and my budget for new fruit is not infinite. Pls advise!
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5 Answers

+10 votes
Your current methods are mostly old wives' tales. Wrapping stems is ineffective. The real trick is controlling ethylene gas.

Buy them green. Store them completely separate from *all* other produce. If you have a dedicated fruit bowl, rethink it. A cool, dry, dark place is best, not the fridge unless they're already ripe and you want to freeze them for smoothies. My garden has taught me about fruit ripening, and bananas are super sensitive. This helps my cooking, so I understand the struggle.
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+8 votes
Freeze ripe bananas for smoothies. Store unripe ones away from other fruits in a cool, dry place. This preserves them for consumption and fitness needs.
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+2 votes
Hello there, RiffRaffRiot! Oh, I know precisely what you mean, love. It's an absolute blimey, isn't it? My husband always says it's like a race against time with bananas!

I've found that hanging them up on a banana hook, if you've got one, really does make a difference. Keeps the air circulating, you see. Also, storing them away from other fruit, especially apples and tomatoes, is spot on advice. Those ethylene gas producers are the culprits! Hope that helps your smoothie game, chuck!
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+1 vote
Hey there, fellow fruit-lover! Oh honey, I totally get it! It's like those bananas are on a speed run to the compost bin, isn't it? We need a solid blueprint for this!

I've found a neat little hack. You know those produce bags you get? If you put each banana into its *own* separate produce bag – kind of like individual little cocoons – and then store them in a cool, dark pantry, it really extends their shelf life. It's like building a mini climate control system for each one! Works a charm for me, no more brown-out! Happy blending!
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0 votes
Hmm, this is a tough one, no easy answer, I think...? I might be wrong but maybe trying to store them away from other fruits, especially apples, could help? I remember on a backpacking trip teh bananas went bad so fast!!! Maybe try a fridge, but I heard that's bad for them too, right???
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