Bananas will stay 'fresher for longer' if kept away from one place in the kitchen

People typically store their bananas in a specific part of the kitchen - their fruit bowl - but this is actually one of the worst places for them to rest.

Food expert Katherine Kyle from Magical Life Fruit shared that one of the banana storage "secrets" that "nobody tells you" is that bananas should always be kept away from other fruits.

The expert said: "Keep your bananas separate from all other fruits including other ripe bananas. Fruits let off ethylene gas when they are ripening, so keeping ripe fruit with unripe fruit will cause the unripe fruit to ripen more quickly."

Ethylene gas is a hormone found in different fruits that helps them grow - but can also speed up the ripening process if they are stored together, reports the Express.

So, how do I store my bananas to keep them fresher for longer? If you want your bananas to stay yellow then cover them up.

Katherine said: "The main way in which bananas ripen is by releasing gasses from the stems. So if you cover up the stems, you’re able to slow down the ripening process."

All you need to do is snap the bananas from each other and wrap the stems individually in clingfilm. Do not remove the plastic wrap until you are ready to eat, and your bananas will last two weeks longer than they usually would.

Storing bananas in cooling temperatures with plenty of airflow is also good for them - so make sure to take them out of their original packaging and don't store them next to appliances like the oven or toaster.

Katherine said: "Heat from a bag or a heated room causes bananas to ripen much more quickly."

If you have peeled a banana and want to keep it fresh then try rubbing one teaspoon of citrus juice all over the yellow fruit.

The expert added: "If you’ve already cut up your banana and want to keep it from going bad, rub some lemon, lime or orange juice over the flesh to keep it fresher for longer."

Citrus juice disrupts the enzymatic breakdown process and stops bananas without a peel from going brown or mushy.

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