How to Keep Bananas From Turning Brown

After peeling a banana, the fruit can turn from white or yellow to brown within a matter of minutes. After some time on the counter, ripe bananas will develop a brown peel. Bananas contain the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, and when the enzyme interacts with oxygen, it causes a chemical reaction. This chemical reaction, known as enzymatic browning, changes the banana’s peel and fruit to brown.

If you buy a bunch of bananas from the grocery store and want to keep bananas fresh for a week, store them away from other fruits. Avocados, apples, and peaches all emit ethylene gas, which quickens the ripening process, so store your whole, unpeeled bananas away from these fruits.

Another way to keep your unpeeled bananas fresh is to hang them with a banana holder. Hanging the bananas will prevent bruising and will maintain the fruit’s fresh yellow color. Bananas with bruises will undergo enzymatic browning more quickly.

Placing bananas in the fridge will keep the fruit fresh, but the banana peel may turn brown. The cooler temperature slows the ripening process, and as long as your banana is yellow and fresh when you put it in the fridge, it will be safe to consume after cooling in the fridge for a couple of days. This can make for a nice, refreshing snack during warmer weather.

If your banana is already brown and ripened, putting it in the refrigerator will not reverse the ripening process. Fortunately, you can use slightly mushy or overripe bananas in recipes, including banana pudding, smoothies, and banana bread.

There are a few methods you can employ to keep your grocery store bananas from ripening too quickly:

1. 1. Keep plastic wrap on. Sometimes, when you buy a bunch of bananas, there is plastic wrap wound around the fruits’ crown. Keep that wrap on; the ethylene gas that leads to enzymatic browning releases from the top of the fruit. If your bunch does not have plastic wrap around it, you can add some to lengthen your fruits’ shelf life.
2. 2. Add citric acid. To preserve peeled bananas, take a tablespoon of lemon juice and brush it over the banana. Lime juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice will work as well. You can apply the same process to cut bananas; spray a little citrus juice (two parts citric acid to one part water) over a banana fruit salad, mix it up, and then cover it tightly to preserve.
3. 3. Keep out of direct sunlight. Make sure your bananas are not hit by direct sunlight. The sun will raise the temperature of the bananas, which will make them ripen more quickly.

To store bananas for a longer period of time, you can use two simple methods:

1. 1. Place bananas in an airtight container. If you have peeled the banana but have not finished it, place it in an airtight container or zip-top bag to keep oxygen out and halt the ripening process.
2. 2. Place in the freezer. Frozen bananas will keep for up to a month and will maintain their pigment. Keep them away from other items in your freezer so they do not get bruised, and remove them about an hour before consumption so they can defrost and reach room temperature.

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