Woman shares 'crazy' but simple food storage hack to keep bananas fresh for 18 days longer

Bananas tend to ripen mere days after purchase, often leaving a whole batch brown and mushy if not eaten speedily. However, bananas should typically last weeks without spoiling and most people may be storing them incorrectly - they should never be kept in a fruit bowl.

The stems of bananas emit a plant growth hormone called ethylene gas, allowing the transition from unripe green bananas to yellow, tender, sweet fruits. This gas, however, also triggers speedy ripening.

Other fruits like apples, avocados, mangoes, pears, peaches and berries also emit ethylene gas, and when stored together, the amount of gas produced can instigate premature rotting, leading to the disposal of your fruit before its time. Yet, Brenda Anderson, a farmer, cook and founder of Little Lost Creations, suggests a solution to this issue storing ripe bananas in the fridge is an effective way to maintain their freshness, reports the Express.

Brenda shared: "Then a friend of mine told me something she had tried. I thought it sounded a little crazy, but I thought I would give it a try.

"She said to put the bananas in a brown paper grocery bag closed tightly and put them in the crisper in the refrigerator. She said the peel would go black but the banana would taste good."

Contrary to popular belief, bananas can indeed be stored in the fridge without spoiling, despite the peel turning black due to the cold temperature. If a yellow banana is kept in the fridge, it will halt the ripening process and the fruit inside the peel will remain fresh and good to eat for weeks after being bought.

Brenda shared: "After two-and-a-half weeks in the crisper in the refrigerator I took my bananas out to try them. I really wanted to put this method to the test.

"The peelings don't look like the banana is going to taste good but when I peeled the banana it had not gone mushy like I thought it would. It was still firm and tasted just a little riper than when I put them in the brown paper sack."

The secret to keeping bananas fresher for longer is to prevent ethylene gas from spoiling them. This can also be achieved by wrapping the stem in cling film, as it will stop the fruit from producing the gas.

Another food storage tip is to keep your bananas away from other fruit. This can be done by hanging bananas from a hook above your fruit bowl, allowing more air circulation to prevent the ethylene gas from taking effect.

However, if your bananas have gone mushy and cannot be saved, you do not have to throw them away. You can easily turn them into a delicious banana bread or even bake some banana and chocolate chip muffins as a tasty treat.