How to stop bananas ripening?

LadyDee

Is there a way to slow down the process so that a small bunch of bananas is still edible at the end of the week?

pamsdish

Is wrapping end in cling film the answer ?, not the end with stalk attached, the bottom when peeling.

PasturesNew

Separate them. They give off gas that ripens themselves and others around them (including other foods). One simple way is to keep them separate from one another. You can hang them up, on a hook (pricey versions available, but not required), to help disperse the gas. But this still means they're "with their mates". Isolate them.... I dot them round the room but I only buy 2-3 at a time.

LadyDee

Somebody has now told me that keeping them in the fridge will keep them from ripening for a while, even if the skins themselves go brown. Soooo....

I've put one in the fridge, one in a cupboard with the end in clingfilm, and the other two in separate places in the kitchen. The winner will be announced later :-)

trailingspouse

I buy them very green. Personally I prefer them with a bit of 'crunch', but OH likes them once they've gone spotty. So basically I eat bananas at the beginning of the week, and he eats what's left at the end of the week.

cherryblossomzel

As PasturesNew says: separate them. I don't dot them about the place, I just leave an inch or so between them.

Apparently you can keep them together but wrap the connected ends in foil also, though I haven't tried this.

-taff

I put them in the fridge, or buy them quite green.

flubberyzing

I buy them fairly green, on a Sunday, then put them in the fridge. And although the skins go rather brown, the insides are usually still pretty good on a Friday. I usually buy 5, and split them into a 3 and a 2.

wurley

Don't keep them with apples - As it speeds up the ripening. Gardeners will often put an apple with unripe fruit to ripen them up quicker. (Something interesting... Amaryllis online instructions say not to put apples near the hibernating bulbs as it can cause them to rot.)

LadyDee

The fridge won. Yes, the skin was going brown, but the fruit was still very firm.

mumf

Hang them up.