Bananas Last 10 Days Longer With One Kitchen Item: Fact or Fiction?
The “one kitchen item” is usually plastic wrap (cling film). The trick is to wrap only the banana stems/crown, not the whole fruit. Bananas naturally produce ethylene, a gas involved in ripening, and covering the stems can slow that process.
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UNL Food
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How to try it
Keep bananas at room temperature while they’re still green or yellow.
Wrap the stem ends tightly with a small piece of plastic wrap.
Keep them somewhere cool, dry, and away from direct sunlight and heat.
Keep bananas away from other ripe fruit such as apples and avocados, which can also release ethylene.
Once the bananas are fully ripe, refrigerating them can extend their usable life. The peel may turn brown, but the inside can remain good.
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UNL Food
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Will they really last 10 days longer?
Not necessarily. That’s the part of the headline that is exaggerated. Reliable guidance says stem wrapping can add several days, but there is no guarantee of exactly 10 extra days. One recent controlled kitchen test found stem-wrapped bananas performed about the same as bananas stored on a hook, showing that results can vary considerably.
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Kitchn
Best simple strategy: wrap the stems, avoid heat and sunlight, keep bananas away from other ripening fruit, and refrigerate them once they’re ripe.
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