01/5​How to retain the freshness of bananas

Bananas don’t need an introduction as they have been an inseparable part of our day-to-day diet. Right from adding a twist of taste to our delicious shakes and smoothies to adding a punch of nutrition to our fruits salads, pies, puddings, they are irreplaceable.

Packed with the goodness of nutrients such as potassium, fiber, vitamins and minerals, this fruit is a healthy source of plant based proteins and helps in strengthening muscles as well as immunity.

But one thing that most banana lovers hate is that it starts rotting very quickly. In fact, at times the whole bunch can turn brown and black in just a few days and the worst part is that you cannot revive these bananas after that and all you can do is just throw them in the bin. Here are a few simple hacks to retain the freshness and increase the shelf life of your favourite fruit.

02/5​ How to increase the shelf life of bananas?

Banana is that one fruit, which gets sweeter with age! This is the reason why most of us prefer ripe bananas with slight brown freckles. Unfortunately, the sad part is that on an average a banana takes just 3-4 days to ripe. Once the bananas are perfectly ripe, you can freeze them in different ways to use them later. However, if the banana turns black you can no longer eat it as it is not safe to eat.

Well, you would be amazed to know that freezing the bananas in the right way can retain their freshness upto 2-3 months, isn’t that amazing! Here are few tricks and tips to freeze bananas the right way.

03/5​ Freeze whole bananas

You must have seen whole frozen bananas in a supermarket or in a cold chain storage, these bananas appear fresh, but over a period of time their peel turns brown and they get stiff. Basically, freezing the bananas can actually reduce the nutritional quality as well as the taste and texture of the fruit.

Thus, if you want to use a bunch of bananas later, then peel them and put them in an airtight container and then freezer them and you can relish them later as a frozen fruit.

04/5​ Freeze chopped banana

The best way to retain freshness of sliced and chopped bananas is to cut them nicely. Then line a parchment paper or wax based paper on a baking tray, spread these chopped pieces separately in the tray, freeze them for 2-3 hours, then store them in an airtight container. Once you store these frozen banana bits in a container after freezing, it will prevent these from sticking together and spoiling the texture.

This way they will retain the taste, freshness and texture so that you can easily use these banana pieces for baking or cooking. In fact, if you want to amp up the taste of your smoothies or shakes, you can use these banana slices. Just take them out half an hour before using and then add them to your drinks and delicacies.

05/5​ Freeze crumbled and mashed bananas

Another amazing way of freezing bananas is crumbling or mashing them into a fine smooth paste and then freezing them. In fact, you can freeze these mashed bananas in a food-grade zip lock bag, just make sure you squeeze out all the air from the bag, because presence or air or moisture can spoil the texture and freshness of bananas.

Another way of storing them is by keeping them in an airtight container, but make sure you add it to a dry airtight container as moisture can lead to rotting of the mashed bananas. You can use this for your cakes, puddings and frozen desserts.