Why are bananas in the fridge a no no? (Or are they?)
March 26th, 2012
Bananas in the fridge turn black and look ugly. Good luck feeding your kids ugly fruit, right?
So don’t put them in the fridge.
But what if you are a conscious consumer, the bananas are getting old, nobody is eating them, and you don’t like wasting food?
A banana’s flavour and it’s nutritional value won’t be affected by the black peel unless the banana was unripe to start with.
Why do bananas go black in the fridge?
The thing with bananas is that they emit a lot of ethylene gas, which is a ripening agent.
A green banana, a tropical fruit, will stop ripening in a cold environment but the gas continues to be released. This will break down cell walls and so the peel becomes black. The flesh inside remains the same, though unripe, and it won’t ripen again even if you remove the fruit from the cold environment.
A ripened banana can be popped in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks and even if the peel turns brown or black the flesh will be good to eat.
You can then peel the banana and cut it up for the fussy eaters to be none the wiser.
Another great way to preserve bananas instead of letting them go to waste is by freezing them. (Did anyone say banana bread?)
Either throw the whole thing in the freezer or peel it first and then it can be used for banana smoothies in any season.
Bananas are a total powerfood. At about a 105 calories a pop they are a tremendous activity food, too. The less ripe the more starchy and filling, the more ripe the sweeter and more energy packed.
They are also:
- Very low in saturated fat
- No cholesterol
- Very low in sodium
- High in dietary fiber
- High in potassium
- Very high in vitamin B6
- High in vitamin C
My Nana’s Mega Banana Cake Recipe. It uses black banana’s, I never waste a banana, my kids love them and love their great grandmothers cake even more. Cream 6 T of butter with 1/2 C Sugar, add 2 eggs, and 2 mashed bananas. Add 1 t of Baking Soda dissolved in 100 mls of boiling milk, it froths up so be quick. Then Add 1 C of flour and 1 t Baking Powder sifted together, mix well, put into greased loaf pans or cake tin, Cook at 350 for 20 mins, its cook when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Then Enjoy
I used to have this great carrot cake recipe and for it I had to have overripe bananas. When the bananas were going too ripe I would either use them straight away in a carrot cake or freeze them. You can freeze them if your using them in cooking. I miss my old recipe, plus a banana cake recipe, both family favourites, lost those and lost my old favourite mixer, it blue up lol. I am at the moment using a cheaper version not the same like the recipes I have tried since lol not being the same.
It is best to peel banana when black, I place them in a plastic zip lock bag and add to it when needed thereby saving space and extra bags each time. Interesting article thank you
Bananas keep well in the fridge if they’re placed unpeeled in an insulated lunch bag, like the ones children take to school. They don’t turn black and they stay firm for quite a while.
Black bananas over ripe, if you have a dehydrator, simply dry them it takes a while to do, or if you dont have one, low oven in a rack until they become pliable, but its a nutritional snack, much much better than a sugar filled lolly.