The banana is a peculiar fruit due to its nutritional composition but full of healthy benefits, being also suitable in diets to lose weight, especially when it is still slightly green. But if what we are looking for is a more tender and sweet banana, sometimes it is an ordeal to wait for it to ripen on its own. As we are interested, we can slow down or accelerate that point of maturation with some tricks at home.
The table banana, the one that we usually consume in Spain raw and that we distinguish from those, confusingly, called “machos” or “green”, offers different qualities depending on its point of maturation. Like most fruits the riper it is the sweeter it will be, with a more tender texture and a more intense aroma and flavor, since it concentrates more natural sugars. It is also higher in calories and a more immediate source of energy, while the greener banana offers more starch and fiber, as well as greater long-term satiety.
It is a climacteric fruit, which continues to ripen after harvest and gives off ethylene, like apples or avocados. More greens are usually harvested so that they arrive at the point of sale in good condition and offer a margin of conservation at their destination. But, unlike other fruits, the most mature, black and blandurrio It is still useful, at least culinaryly, since we already know that when preparing desserts such as a cake or muffins, we will achieve much more flavor and sweetness with bananas that are less appealing to the naked eye.
We do not always want it to reach that state if our idea is to consume the banana naturally, but we do not usually like the specimens too much either. green, rough and somewhat tasteless. Finding the exact point to our liking is not easy, so it’s time to organize. Or use technology and science to our advantage.
How to speed up banana ripening
- Don’t keep them in the fridge. Many of you will already know that the banana is a fruit that does not go well with the refrigerator, especially if what we want is for it to ripen. Professionals keep this fruit in chambers with controlled temperatures between 10 and 20ºC; below, natural maturation slows down, its flavor does not develop well and it turns black on the outside. It will still be edible, but it won’t ripen well.
- Take advantage of the natural environment. With warm temperatures the banana will ripen on its own even overnight. Place the fruit in a warm area of the fridge, receiving sunlight, better if there is humidity in the environment but with good ventilation.
- In a paper bag or newspaper. The ethylene that the banana emits will speed up its ripening; inside a cardboard or paper bag, or wrapped in sheets of newspaper, it will concentrate the gases and create a warmer environment that will make it ripen faster. Paper, being porous, will allow a certain amount of air to pass through without suffocating the fruit like plastic would.
- with other fruits. Apples and pears can help the banana to ripen more quickly, especially the first ones. Place the fruits together, better if the apples are already somewhat ripe, as they will emit more ethylene.
- use the oven. To ripen the fruit in a few minutes so that you can use it in a recipe you want to prepare immediately, simply roast the unpeeled bananas at about 160ºC for 20-30 minutes, or until they are completely black, if you are going to use them in a sweet. If you don’t want them so ripe, reduce the temperature and time a little, controlling the point well by eye and touching them.
- to the fire. If you prefer to avoid turning on the oven because you are not going to make a cake or cookies, you can imitate the result with a covered pan or casserole, over a very low heat, to generate that heat that will slightly cook the banana. To take it naturally, control the point very well since it will continue to cook as it cools.
How to preserve bananas so they don’t ripen too quickly
In summer it gets complicated keep bananas at home for several days if we don’t want them to soften too soon. The most logical thing is to avoid precisely everything mentioned in the previous point. In addition, the following must be taken into account:
- Avoid high temperatures. From 20ºC of ambient temperature, the ripening of the fruit accelerates, and it will be faster the hotter it is. Try to store them in the coolest and most ventilated area of the kitchen, at a stable temperature.
- Away from the kitchen. It may sound strange, but if the kitchen is hot (something common because few people will have it heated, and the very action of cooking raises the temperature), store them in another room, the coolest in the house.
- Do not mix them with other fruits or vegetables. Store bananas alone, away from other vegetables that can interfere with their conservation, especially climacteric fruits such as apples or pears.
- Ventilation, dryness and darkness. The banana will last longer in a stable, ventilated place, with little ambient humidity and dark, well away from sunlight and also from electric lights that can provide heat.
- No crowding. The more air circulates around each piece, the better. A hook can help keep the bunch well ventilated without the fruit coming into contact with any surface.
- Together better than apart. If you have a very large bunch, separate them into several with fewer units so that they do not pile up excessively, but leave several bananas together, as they are better preserved than individually.
- plastic film. Use this trick we shared a long time ago, wrapping the end of the bunch in kitchen plastic wrap.
- keep them in the fridge. Once they are at the desired point of consumption, or there is little left, you can refrigerate them. Take advantage of the special fruit drawer, better if you put a special mesh at the base, in the least cold area and with less humidity, protected from climacteric fruits and vegetables. Another option is special fruit storage containers. Even if the skin turns black, the meat will keep well.
- Portable coolers. Terracotta and clay are materials used for centuries to preserve food before refrigerators existed. If you have a Römertopf-type bread bin or oven source, take the opportunity to store the bananas there, in a cool room.
Rayen 6313.01 – Preservative base for refrigerator, 47 x 30 cm
Römertopf 810 05 Bread Pot, Oval Design, Red
BEfresh HOME – FRESH fruits and vegetables for 40% LONGER | For use inside and outside the fridge | 1 year pack | 2 Containers + 4 Sachets | Made in Spain
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