Bananas: Experts explain how to keep the fruit fresh
Bananas are a staple in many people’s weekly food shops, but they have a short shelf-life, around two to three days if purchased when they are yellow.
If purchased when green, they may have a couple of extra days, but sometimes they may not even ripen if they were purchased when green.
Banana skin can bruise extremely easily, which can damage the quality of the fruit inside as well as reduce its shelf-life.
To help, experts have shared various ways to make bananas last for much longer, up to 10 days in fact.
A lot of Britons will keep their bananas out on the kitchen side, in a fruit bowl or hanging over a fruit bowl to keep them fresh.
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However, according to Kate Hall, food expert and founder of The Full Freezer, storing the fruit in the fridge can help to elongate their use by date by up to 10 days once ripened.
Once the bananas have reached the desired colour, simply pop them in the fridge away from other fruit items.
The expert added: “If bananas are past the point of us wanting to eat them, you can peel them and then freeze them.”
Britons can then add them to smoothies straight from frozen or even make healthy ice cream with the leftovers.
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Sarah Bridenstine, professional baker and chef, said bananas have their own “quirky storage needs” which should be followed.
The expert said: “To speed up the ripening of green bananas, bag them up. The gases they emit will work their magic.
“Once they’re perfectly cool, keep them cool to slow down over-ripening. Fridge them once they’re ripe to halt the blackening.
“The insides will still be sweet. Bananas release crazy amounts of gas that can prematurely ripen nearby fruit so store them separately.
“If you have overripe bananas, you have a baking jackpot. You can make bread, smoothies or even sugar, don’t toss them.”
Another fruit which can go off very quickly is strawberries, which may turn mushy or mouldy when left for too long.
Richard Price from Britsuperstore recommended storing the fruit in a proper container with ventilation holes.
According to Richard, airtight containers can trap moisture, “accelerating spoilage”, and is often a mistake many people make.
Another mistake is leaving them in the container they came in, which is often not suitable for longer-term storage.
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