Bananas ‘will stay ripe a lot longer’ without browning if you use genius paper towel hack
Bananas are one of those fruits that are green one minute and the next they've gone brown, but one TikToker has claimed they've found a way to keep them fresh for a lot longer.
Bananas are delicious and a versatile ingredient, but they are notorious for going brown too quickly - and the reason may be that you are storing them the wrong way.
If your bananas are browning or turning black, then you may be storing them in a fruit bowl or with their stems out in the open.
These are two of the worst ways to keep bananas if you want them to stay fresh and yellow.
Taking to their TikTok account @dyannemartin50, Dyanne shared an “insane” way to prolong the lifespan of bananas so they “will last a lot longer”.
She captioned the video: “Wash your bananas! Rinse the chemicals off, wrap the stem in a wet paper towel and re-wet that paper towel every morning. Your bananas will last longer.”
Stay up-to-date with the latest Household Hacks news
Join us on WhatsAppOur community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
@dyannemartin50 Wash your BANANAS. Rinse the chemicals off, wrap the stem in a wet paper towel, re-wet that paper towel every morning. Your bananas will last longer!!!!!! #banana #bananas #crazybananas?????? ♬ original sound - Dyanne
Dyanne started the video by explaining that bananas are treated with chemicals so they need to be washed in cold water once taken home from the supermarket.
She noted that some bananas she used the wet paper towel hack on six days prior have no signs of browning.
Dyanne showed the camera those bananas and they were still bright yellow and looked super fresh.
Wrapping the stems in a wet paper towel will reduce the amount of ethylene they release, which is what makes the fruit go bad faster.
Don't miss...
James Martin’s foolproof recipe for the best crispy roast potatoes every time [EXPERT]
Gordon Ramsay claims 89p item is needed for creamy and fluffy scrambled eggs [INSIGHT]
Clever method to cook fried eggs in 40 seconds without frying - tastes delicious [TIPS]
Taking to the comments section, fellow TikTok users shared their thoughts on the hack.
@vickie said: “I never thought of this before, but you’re right. I love the idea of wrapping the tops.” @kennyjojo wrote: “That’s actually insane! We go through ours quick.”
Another TikToker, who goes by the handle @tipperk, tested an array of storage methods to get to the bottom of the debate and also found this wet paper towel hack to work well.
The Tiktoker also found that wrapping the stems of banana peels in just cling film helped to keep one of the bananas fresh too.
@tipperk How to properly store bananas? Pt 2 #bananastorage #bananastoragetips #bananacare #producestorage #fridgemagnet #foodstorage #freshproduce #kitchenhacks #tiktoktips #foodhacks #kitchentips #storagetips #storefruitsproperly #storevegtablesproperly #preserveproduce #fridgeorganization #healthyeating #mealprep ♬ original sound - tipperk
Two other methods can help preserve the ripeness of your bananas - hanging them and storing them away from certain fruits.
Hanging bananas not only keeps them from taking up valuable kitchen counter space but, more importantly, they promote air circulation, enabling ethylene gas to move away from the bananas so they ripen more slowly.
Keep bananas two to three feet away from other ethylene-emitting fruits such as apples, apricots, avocados, mangoes, prunes, pears, plums, and tomatoes.