A food expert has shared an unusual trick for keeping bananas fresh for up to two weeks by storing them in a surprising location – and it goes against everything we’ve been told
Bananas tend to go squishy and change colour a mere few days after bringing them home from the supermarket. This troublesome problem has meant you either have to eat them quickly or face the food waste dilemma.
But, there’s a nifty way to keep your hard-earned cash from ending up in the bin, and it turns out we’ve been stashing our bananas all wrong!
A top tip from Camilla, the culinary wiz behind FabFood4All, has taken TikTok by storm as she reveals bananas last longer and stay brilliantly yellow if you just pop them in the fridge.
She admitted on her TikTok channel: “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.”
On a quest for truth, she shared, “Last week my daughter informed me that all her university friends store their bananas in the fridge, so I kept these bananas in the fridge for four whole days once they ripened.”
Camilla expected the familiar sight of blackened, spotty bananas but instead reported, “Usually by now they’d be completely black and covered in spots, so I’m going to open a banana to see if it’s true.”
Much to her astonishment, upon peeling, the banana was bang-on ripe and completely fresh. “You learn something new every day,” she exclaimed. In the comments section of her post, Camilla further advised that a cool fridge temperature “definitely extends their life” by an extra two weeks.
Against all odds, refrigerating bananas does indeed keep them in tip-top shape, slamming the brakes on the ripening routine and keeping them perfect for when you want to eat one.
Banana peels can retain their yellow hue for a few days in the fridge, but will eventually darken to black – though they’ll still be good to eat. The fruit inside the blackened peel will remain yellow, fresh and firm, lasting just over two weeks after purchase.
It’s crucial to only refrigerate ripe bananas, as green ones won’t ripen in cold storage. Storing bananas in the fridge is generally better than keeping them in a fruit bowl due to the ethylene gas emitted by most fruits, which can cause faster spoilage.
Keeping bananas in the fridge separates them from other fruits, thereby extending their lifespan. However, if you’re short on fridge space, wrapping the stems in clingfilm can help prevent the spread of ethylene gas and keep your bananas fresher for longer.
