Brits can keep their bananas fresh for 2 weeks if kept with 1 simple household item

Bananas are one of the most wasted foods in the UK, but there’s a simple way to keep them fresh for up to two weeks – and it doesn’t involve putting them in the fridge

Bananas make an ideal choice for a quick breakfast or snack, yet they’re amongst the most frequently binned foods in households, largely because people aren’t storing them correctly. Mandy Applegate, a specialist from Two City Vegans, has revealed that bananas ought to be kept well away from fruit bowls, as this causes them to rapidly turn brown and mushy.

She explained: “A fruit bowl is one of the worst places to store bananas since many other fruits, like apples and peaches, also release ethylene gas. Keeping bananas away from other fruit prevents a chain reaction of over-ripening.”

Fruits such as bananas, apples and peaches emit a naturally occurring compound known as ethylene gas, which helps fruit ripen so it becomes tender and tasty enough for consumption. When excessive ethylene gas accumulates in the atmosphere, it will prompt fruit to race through the ripening stage and rapidly deteriorate into a spoiled mess instead, reports the Express.

Bananas are vulnerable to ethylene whilst simultaneously producing substantial amounts of it, so to maintain fruit freshness it’s advisable to remove them from the fruit bowl and position them individually on the kitchen counter.

Simply place bananas away from other fruit and any heat sources such as an air fryer or oven, which ought to preserve their freshness.

Nevertheless, if you wish bananas to endure even longer, then it’s optimal to completely reduce their ethylene production using some cling film. Mandy shared her tip, stating: “Wrapping the stems of bananas in plastic wrap effectively slows down the room-temperature ripening process. The stems release the ethylene gas, so covering them traps the gas.”

She added: “This simple technique can keep room-temperature bananas firm and yellow for longer. Just a small piece of plastic wrap can make all the difference in extending bananas’ shelf life.”

Bananas emit ethylene gas from their stem, hence wrapping them in cling film or tin foil prevents this gas from escaping into the air.

By removing bananas from a fruit bowl, keeping them away from heat and wrapping up their stem, they could remain fresh for an additional 10 to 14 days beyond their usual lifespan.