Yahoo News If You Don't Freeze Your Bananas, You're Missing Out
There’s nothing worse than going to have a banana and realising that, in the blink of an eye, it’s turned into a brown, over-ripened mess that’s only good for one thing. Yup, banana bread.
But if you don’t fancy making a batch of banana bread right away, what are you supposed to do with your sad, soggy banana? It would be criminal to throw it away, so what else can you do with it? Why freeze it, of course!
That way, whenever you fancy making a batch of banana bread or banana ice cream (more on that shortly), you’ll have bananas just begging to be used. But how do you go about freezing bananas?
How to freeze bananas
There are two ways to freeze bananas…
Freezing whole bananas
You can freeze bananas whole. You simply pop the banana, still in its skin, in the freezer and grab it when you need it at a later date.
Freezing sliced bananas
As well as freezing whole bananas, you can slice up your banana and freeze it like that. How very convenient! Simply pop your banana slices in a freezer bag and pop them in your freezer; ready to be taken out when a banana smoothie or banana ice cream is on the menu.
How to defrost frozen bananas
If you’ve frozen your banana whole, simply take it out of the freezer and leave to defrost at room temperature, then peel and use as required. But be warned: it will be super-slippery and slimy, so that makes peeling it fun...
You can also defrost it in the microwave if you’re in a rush. Just give it 30 seconds, then check on it. Give it another 30 seconds if it’s not quite defrosted and continue to do this until it’s fully defrosted.
If you’ve frozen your banana in slices, you’ll probably not need to defrost them as they’re best used in smoothies and banana ice cream, in which case, they can be used frozen.
How to make frozen banana smoothies
If you’re making a banana smoothie, simply chuck a few slices of frozen banana into the blender along with your other bits and bobs, and blend as normal. The frozen banana slices will add a lovely creaminess and will make it all nice and cold.
How to make banana ice cream
Banana ice cream is one of the easiest, healthiest and tastiest puddings known to man. And you barely need any ingredients to make it.
Ingredients
5 ripe bananas, thinly sliced
3 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp honey, plus more for drizzling
Chopped toasted walnuts, for serving (optional)
Method
Arrange banana slices on a baking sheet and wrap in plastic. Freeze until frozen, at least 2 hours
Combine banana, milk, and honey in a food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy.
Serve immediately for a soft serve consistency or scrape into a loaf pan, cover with plastic, and freeze for at least 5 hours or up to overnight for a scoopable consistency. Serve drizzled with more honey and sprinkled with nuts.
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