Ripening Bananas Faster: Quick Hacks You Need to Know
If patience isn’t your strong suit, and those green bananas just aren’t doing it for you, here are some speedy methods to get them ripened and ready to eat.
(Photo: shutterstock)We all know how it goes: you buy some green bananas, optimistically waiting for them to turn yellow and delicious, but blink once and they’ve gone straight to speckled black overnight. If waiting isn’t an option, here are a few hacks that might just save your snack time.
So, how can you speed up banana ripening?
One popular method is to use your oven. A quick bake can effectively accelerate the ripening process.
"Baking a banana is a lightning-fast ripening trick. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, place the banana (still in its peel) on a baking sheet and use a fork to poke a few holes in the banana. Bake it for about 30 minutes," suggests this handy tip.
Want to know the blessing for a banana?
Another method from an expert is to put the bananas in the freezer: "Extremely high or low temperatures cause cells and starches in the banana to break down, resulting in that soft, mushy texture."
Soft and Sweet
Another tip is to place your bananas next to other ethylene-producing fruits like apples, melons, and avocados. As Bill Goldfield, corporate communications manager at Dole, suggests, "Ethylene signals bananas to start the ripening process. A single apple or tomato can be enough to kickstart the process and help the banana ripen."
Dietitian Jennifer Pleian adds, "Ethylene gas is a natural plant hormone that stimulates ripening in fruits like bananas. It is produced in higher concentrations as bananas near peak ripeness. When exposed to ethylene from a ripe fruit, bananas will produce enzymes that break down their cell walls, resulting in a softer texture and sweeter taste."
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