A banana is a well-known fruit that is very rich in potassium and once a banana is ripe it can be very hard to preserve. Unlike other fruits that can easily be refrigerated, the skin of a banana tends to turn black when it is placed in the refrigerator, thus giving some people doubts on whether it can actually be refrigerated. This article aims at unravelling why a banana turns black when it is placed in the refrigerator and if bananas in general can be consumed after being refrigerated. The article will further recommend some convenient ways that can be used to store bananas so that they can last longer and not turn black.
Contents
What happens when bananas are refrigerated?
Bananas are tropical fruits, thus they grow well in warm climatic conditions. When bananas, both ripe and unripe are placed in the refrigerator the skin turns black because the cell walls cannot protect them from the cold temperature. The interesting thing about this whole issues is that even though the skin of the ripe banana turns dark the banana will still be okay to eat. This is because the refrigerator slows down the ripening process so if you have a banana that is already ripe you can place it in the refrigerator and it will still remain fresh inside. However, the problem is that the black skin might look very unpleasant to such an extent that you might throw the whole banana away. It is important to know that since the refrigerator slows down the ripening process of bananas it is not advisable to put unripe bananas in the refrigerator since they won’t be able to ripen. Moreover, even if they are taken out of the refrigerator to complete their ripening process they still won’t ripen.
Can bananas be refrigerated?
Yes bananas can be refrigerated especially when they are ripe. As previously noted the refrigerator slows down the ripening process of the bananas so you can easily preserve them. Although the skin of the bananas turns black the banana will still be okay to eat. However, unripe bananas cannot be refrigerated since they will remain hard even after they are removed from the refrigerator. So it is best to store unripe bananas at room temperature until their ripe then you can place them in the refrigerator.
How to store bananas
The methods highlighted below are for mainly for storing ripe bananas. Only one method stated in this section is for storing both ripe and unripe bananas.
Store bananas by peeling the skin before refrigerating them
As has been previously stated, ripe bananas can actually be refrigerated and preserved for some time. However, if you want to avoid peeling of the dark skin of a frozen banana you can simply peel it off before placing it in the refrigerator. You can also cut the bananas into small pieces and place them into an air tight container or freezer bags. When you freeze bananas you can use them to make things like smoothies.
Store bananas by wrapping the stem using plastic wrap
Naturally bananas ripen fast at room temperature so if you bought ripe bananas from the grocery store they will continue ripening until they turn black. However to reduce the ripening process you can wrap the stem of the bananas using plastic wrap. This will help to prevent ethylene gas from spreading to the other parts of the bananas. The ethylene gas is naturally produced by the bananas during the ripening process. Each time you remove 1 banana from the bunch you need to rewrap the bananas so that they do not ripen fast. Alternatively if you have a lot of time you can just separate the bananas from the stem and wrap 1 banana at a time, this will save you the hustle of wrapping the whole stem each time you remove 1 banana.
Store bananas by putting them on a banana hanger
If you want to protect your bananas from ripening too fast then you need to invest in a banana hanger. Hanging the bananas there helps air to circulate around the bananas and it prevents the bottoms from bruising.
Store bananas by putting them in room temperature
Bananas ripen well at room temperature, so if you bought bananas that are slightly unripe you can place them in a basket or bowl then leave them at room temperature. This method also works with ripe bananas, you can safely store them at room temperature however they might rip a little faster if the stems are not wrapped using plastic wrap.
Store bananas with other unripe fruits
This is a good method especially if you have unripe avocados or pears in your house. The unripe avocados or pears will slow down the ripening process of the bananas while the bananas will increase the ripening process of the other fruits. So this method is a win-win for all and you can put it to the test if you are interested.
Conclusion
Generally ripe bananas can be stored in the refrigerator, however it is important to first peel off the skin of the banana so it does not turn black when refrigerated. Bananas are tropical fruits and their cell walls cannot protect them from cold that is why they turn black when exposed to the cold temperatures of the refrigerator. This article has highlighted some interesting facts about bananas and how the refrigerator slows down the ripening process of the bananas. It is important to remember that unripe bananas can never be placed in the refrigerator since even after they are taken out of the refrigerator they will not be able to ripen. The article has also recommended some convenient ways that you can use to store ripe bananas at home. Some of the methods include wrapping the stems of the bananas using plastic wrap, hanging them on a banana tree, storing them together with unripe fruits and also storing them at room temperature so that they do not ripe too fast.