Make my bananas ripen!
Posted by debiliciousveg on Jun 26, 2007 · Member since Jun 2007 · 2 posts
Hi everybody! Relatively new to the forum - so this is the first post!
I've been trying to speed up the ripening process of my bananas by throwing two into a paper bag with an apple. The problem is, they've been in there for at least TWO days, and the bananas are not looking any more ripe than the ones that I've left alone!
It's sort of a silly problem, but I love my bananas nice and ripe - and by ripe I mean spotted brown. sooo good mushy with PB in a sandwich. Anyway, I digress :) I need my PB and banana kick! Why aren't they ripening faster than the ones NOT with the apple? Anyone got any other speed-ripening ideas?
Put them in a paper bag with an apple. The ethylene gas produced by the apple will speed up the ripening process.
Store them by the oven so they are exposed to warmer temperatures when you cook. I've found that heat speeds up the banana ripening process more than the paper bag trick--my bananas ripen so quickly now that it's summer!
One of the few uses I have for those transparent plastic produce bags! Put them in one, tie it shut and put it on top of the fridge or in the oven, as said above. The plastic creates a little "greenhouse".
The apple thing never worked for me either--none of those "grandma's home hints" I read hither and yon ever does. Maybe because I'm not a grandma? ;)
My husband put a banana in the fridge for my son's packed lunch and it turned all brown very quickly (which made him NOT eat it). Try it?
Putting them near heat is a good idea, too. But since I don't use my oven much though during warmer seasons, putting a bowl of bananas near a window exposed to sunlight works as well.
Maybe put them close to an onion? I had to move where I store my onions because they were too close to the banana stand (a wooden base, an vertical upright wooden piece with a horizontal hook to hang the bananas on) and the bananas ripened almost immediately!
Just DON'T but a banana in the frig. It does get brown, but not because it's ripe.
Just DON'T but a banana in the frig. It does get brown, but not because it's ripe.
Yes. True. Leave them unrefrigerated to get all brown, mushy and overly ripe. If you don't use them all and want to save the mushy bananas for later, peel them, cut them in pieces and store banana pieces in sealed container in the freezer to use later for smoothies. If you freeze bananas whole with the skins on it will be hard to remove the peels.
thanks for all the replies! I've already tried the paper bag and/or apple way - not really working. I think I'm going to blame it on the disgusting weather here. So not nice and warm right now!
I'll just have to be patient, or maybe I'll try to enjoy yellow-ripe bananas...
Oh, about the onion method..I'm scared to try that, because won't the onion smell reek into the fruit? Hahah.
thanks for all the replies! I've already tried the paper bag and/or apple way - not really working. I think I'm going to blame it on the disgusting weather here. So not nice and warm right now!
I'll just have to be patient, or maybe I'll try to enjoy yellow-ripe bananas...
Oh, about the onion method..I'm scared to try that, because won't the onion smell reek into the fruit? Hahah.
The bananas still tasted OK, we just had to eat them in a hurry because they became very ripe very fast! The onions were in a mesh bag next to the stand not in a bag with them.