Bananas continue to ripen even after they’re picked
- Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
- July 3, 2024
- 576
It seems every time I walk by the small bunch of bananas sitting on my kitchen counter, they look noticeably darker. You pick them out at the store, and they’re so green you figure they can be eaten in a few days. Next thing you know, they’re looking black and evil and ready to toss out. You might kid yourself that you’re going to make banana bread with every pass as they look less and less appealing, but we’ve told ourselves that joke before, haven’t we?
Those bananas have developed all sorts of quirks that cause such fast ripening. Part of it is our own treatment of them. They obviously bruise easily, and if they get bumped around after you pick them up, the bruises will cause them to darken even faster. That’s why they make those banana hangers — to keep them off the counter so they don’t get bumped.
Bananas continue to ripen after they’re picked, which is why we find them so green in produce cases. They release a gas from the stem end that also hastens browning, so you can take the added step of wrapping the stem ends with plastic wrap. But don’t store them in a plastic bag as this will only brown them more. They also should be stored away from direct sunlight.
In short you are correct in thinking this cheap and super nutritious fruit has a quite short shelf life. Unless your family downs them at a rapid clip, it’s best to buy a few at a time, as many as you can eat up in a couple of days.
I learned not long ago some people experience a burning sensation in their mouth and throat when they eat bananas, not the kind of burn that comes with a hot chili pepper, but more like a chemical burn. It’s an allergic reaction that comes from the proteins in the fruit. The oral food allergic reaction to bananas seems to pair with a latex allergy, so if you have the one, you probably experience the other. Kiwi, cucumbers and zucchini also can cause this reaction.
If you coddle the bananas you buy, you can have them around a while. But if you throw them into the trunk for the trip home and plop them on the counter in a plastic bag in front of the kitchen window, here’s a great recipe for banana nut muffins that will use up a couple of the squishy, gross-looking stragglers. This recipe adds oats and comes together quickly and easily, meaning you might actually make them instead of kidding yourself.
BANANA OAT MUFFINS
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large egg whites
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. In another bowl, beat together egg whites, milk, oil, bananas and brown sugar. Stir in the nuts.
Coat a muffin pan with nonstick spray and divide the batter among the cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
(Recipe: A Taste of Home.)