A common kitchen staple, bananas are often seen in fruit bowls – but many people are still storing them in a way that sees them turn brown and bruised in a matter of days
Bananas are a kitchen essential, frequently spotted in fruit bowls, perfect for breakfast smoothies or quick post-workout snacks. Yet they’re notorious for their brief shelf life, transforming from yellow to brown and mushy seemingly overnight.
Despite their widespread appeal, countless households continue to store them incorrectly, inadvertently speeding up the rotting process.
Conventionally, most people avoid refrigerating bananas, convinced that chilly temperatures would result in them turning black quickly and destroy the fruit. Nevertheless, one inquisitive food blogger conducted a viral TikTok trial that could challenge this belief. It comes after an alert for UK households buying strawberries or blueberries at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S
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Camilla, who runs Fabfood4all.co.uk, is revolutionising our understanding of banana preservation. In her widely-watched clip, she admitted: “It appears I may have been living a lie my entire life. I was always told that you can’t keep bananas in the fridge because they go black.”
A suggestion from her daughter’s university pals inspired her to put the refrigeration theory to the test, reports the Express.
Camilla revealed: “Last week my daughter told me that all her university mates keep their bananas in the fridge, so I kept these bananas in the fridge for four whole days once they [were] ripe.”
The outcome astonished her, as instead of the squishy, overripe mess she anticipated, the bananas stayed firm, golden and completely edible.
“You learn something new every day,” she observed, stripping away slightly darkened skin to unveil vibrant, fresh fruit beneath. In a subsequent remark, she expressed: “I can’t tell you how shocked I am,” and confirmed that refrigerating bananas “definitely extends their life.”
The science behind this trick is that while the banana peels may darken in the fridge over time, the fruit inside stays yellow, firm, and sweet – often for up to two weeks after ripening.
The trick is to only refrigerate bananas once they’ve turned yellow, as green bananas won’t ripen in the cold – so ensure they have some time on the counter first.
Refrigeration also aids by separating bananas from other fruits. In a typical fruit bowl, ethylene gas – naturally released by many fruits – can cause bananas to over-ripen quickly.
The cool environment and separation in the fridge slow this process significantly.