Bananas will last longer without going brown if stored with 1 kitchen item

Bananas are a healthy and filling snack that are perfect for taking on the go for a sweet pick-me-up, but they can turn bad annoyingly fast. Now that the weather is warming up you may notice your bananas are ripening much faster than usual, particularly if you've bought a whole bunch.

The exposure to heat just from your windowsill can speed up the ripening process so you might find your bananas have turned unpleasantly brown and mushy before you've had chance to eat them. But there's an easy way to avoid this food waste and it simply comes down to storage. Bananas tend to ripen faster when they're left to sit in a fruit bowl - especially if placed alongside other fruits in a warm part of the kitchen, but one item can slow this process down so bananas last much longer before turning brown. According to food experts, wrapping banana stems in tin foil helps to keep the fruit fresh for longer.

This is because the foil helps to trap the ethylene gas – a natural ripening agent that is primarily released from the stem – which then slows down the ripening process.

By trapping this gas bananas are prevented from turning brown too quickly, giving them a longer shelf life and keeping them fresh for longer.

The ethylene gas helps aid the change in colour and softness of bananas, causing the starches to start to break down and form sugars. As this happens, unripe green bananas will start to turn yellow and become softer and sweeter.

Food Republic explains: “Compared to other fruits and veggies, bananas are one of the biggest producers of ethylene gas, a natural chemical compound that promotes ripening. 

“The majority of this gas is released through the exposed stem of the fruit, which allows a bunch of bananas to continue ripening even after it's picked from the tree. 

“Wrapping the top of your bunch with aluminum helps to trap in some of the ethylene, so it won't escape into the atmosphere and touch the body of the bananas (or other produce you have sitting nearby, for that matter). This slows down browning and gives you more time to enjoy your bunch.”

If you don’t have any tin foil to hand then cling film can work just as well, and both typically cost less than £2 at most major supermarkets. 

Many fruits respond to the ethylene gas released by bananas, including apples, pears, and passion fruit, but citrus fruits like oranges and lemons are unaffected.

To avoid spoiling other fruits, experts recommend handing your bananas up on a banana hook as this not only keeps them separate but also prevents bruising that can be caused by leaning bananas against the kitchen worktop.