Ripe bananas begin to over-ripen within two days of being brought home, and black spots start appearing on the skin. Many people throw away over-ripe bananas.

Bananas spoil quickly once they are over-ripe. But you may be surprised to learn that five very easy methods can keep ripe bananas good for a long time. Here are the simple ways to store them.

• Keep ripe bananas in a relatively cool part of the house. Ripe bananas keep best at around 54 degrees Fahrenheit, or 12 degrees Celsius. They should also be kept out of direct sunlight.
• Do not keep ripe bananas with other fruit. Keep them away from fruits that release ethylene, such as avocados, peaches, tomatoes, apples and figs; the gas these fruits give off makes bananas ripen faster.
• Bananas ripen quickly because of a gas called ethylene, so you can wrap the stems of the bananas in plastic or newspaper.
• If the bananas start to over-ripen, you can put them in the refrigerator. The colder the temperature, the slower the bananas ripen. Refrigerated bananas may change colour slightly on the outside, but the taste and aroma inside will be unchanged.
• To stop peeled bananas from turning black, sprinkle them with the juice of a sour fruit. This keeps the fruit from changing colour.
• You can also freeze ripe bananas. Peel them, cut them into pieces and put them in the refrigerator in an ice tray. Frozen bananas keep for about six weeks.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.