"I love bananas but they don't last very long!"

"I bought bananas the other day, but when I wanted to eat one I saw that they were all over-ripened  and black. I'm sad."

Does this sound like you? Is this the face you that make when you realize that your fruit investment has been ruined by Father Time?


Well here are a few ways to make these curvy, yellow boomerang fruits last longer!



Here's what you need:

• Refrigerator and freezer
• The practiced ability to distinguish between colors

Here's what to do:

Where ever you buy bananas, you'll notice that many of their colors will range from yellow to green. 

• If you're planning on having an intense banana binge right then and there or within the next hour, then go with the tasty ripe green ones.
• However if you like to enjoy bananas every now and then, go with the really green bananas.

Once you get home, your bananas are usually in a happy bunch.

A happy bunch of bananas.

If you want them to last as long as they can, separate them.

They grew up together, but at least they won't suffer the inevitable together. Unless you're making a smoothie or something.

Once separated, put each banana in a different spot in your kitchen. In a bunch together, they will all ripen too fast but alone and on their own they happen to last a great deal longer. 

If you want your bananas to last even longer, you can put them in the fridge with the peel on.

• Sure they will turn black and ugly on the outside but on the inside, they are still the same banana. 

If you want to your bananas to last for a few more days, you can peel them and put 1-2 cut in half bananas in plastic Ziploc baggies and freeze them.

• They'll still taste the same, and you can even dip the frozen bananas in chocolate and roll them in nuts so your blood sugar levels will rise. 

Why does separating bananas work? It sounds so sad...

Random chemistry-ish lesson: All fruits and vegetables give off an odorless, tasteless gas called ethylene after they're picked. This gas speeds ripening up, especially if a bunch of ethylene gas producing bananas are all together. Separating bunches of fruits and vegetables and forcing them to live the rest of their lives solo will make them last longer. However if you want something to ripen faster such as an apple, you can surround the apple with a bunch of bananas to speed up the process.