How To Ripen Bananas

In the market, bananas are available with varying degree of ripeness. While some are completely green, others have specks of yellow in them and there are still some that have blackish patches all over (meaning that they are over ripe). Still, at times, getting a banana with the exact ripeness you want can become a difficult task. It is at such times that the method of ripening raw bananas at home comes into the picture. You can buy a green banana from the market and ripen it as per your wish. In the following lines, we have provided instructions on how to ripen bananas.

Ripening Raw Bananas Quickly

Items Needed

Paper bag
Bananas
Apple or Tomato

Instructions

While buying raw bananas, keep the desired ripeness and the time available with you, in mind. Remember, it takes at least one day to ripen a banana well.
After buying the bananas, it is the time to purchase an apple or a tomato, either of the two. Both, apple and tomato emit ethylene gases, which help speed up the ripening process of bananas.
Place the raw bananas in a paper bag and add an apple or tomato to it. A plastic bag will not work in this case, since it does not allow the gases to circulate.
Now, leave the paper bag in a dry place, where there are no chances of it being disturbed. The ripening process will take 24 to 36 hours, depending on the greenness of your bananas and the desired ripeness.
After you have achieved the desired degree of ripeness, place the bananas in the refrigerator. It will slow down the ripening process and keep your bananas fresh for a long duration of time.

How to Store Ripe Bananas

Store the ripe bananas in refrigerator. By doing so, although the skin of the bananas would turn black, they would remain firm inside and can be stored for as many as two weeks.
You may store the ripe bananas in the freezer, by peeling their skin and putting them into a freezer bag. The bananas would stay undamaged for several days.

Tips

If you want to ripen your bananas quickly, say within a period of 24 hours, then put them (without peeling them) in an oven that is preheated up to 300 degrees F. By doing so, the skin of the bananas will turn black. The moment the desired temperature is attained, remove the bananas from the oven.
Do not use both apple and tomato together, because it would lead to excess production of ethylene gas, which would lead to over ripening of the bananas.
You can make use of the apple, even after placing it with banana!
Make sure that you store the bananas only at room temperature, until they attain the required ripeness.
If you want to make use of ripe bananas for baked recipes, thaw them before baking. However, you can add peeled ripe bananas directly into smoothies, without defrosting them.

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