Bananas are a vibrant and versatile fruit that can be the simplest of snacks or a star in a variety of recipes.
But no matter how you slice it, bananas taste the best when ripe. The rind should be bright yellow, firm to touch, and peel away smooth to reveal a sweet-smelling flesh on the inside.
While eating a banana is easy, knowing when it's ripe enough to enjoy can be more complex.
You might have noticed that most bananas you find at the supermarket are still a bit green. This is because bananas, like many fruits and vegetables, continue to ripen after being picked. So to give them a longer shelf, bananas are harvested young and delivered to stores while still slightly underripe.
So what do you do when you're craving banana muffins, but all your bananas are still too hard or edged with green? Here are three ways to ripen your bananas faster than nature intended.
How to Ripen Bananas Fast
Whether you have two minutes or two days, here are three easy ways to ripen bananas at home:
Ripen Bananas In a Paper Bag
As bananas naturally ripen, the peels give off ethylene gas. The higher the ethylene concentration in the air surrounding the banana, the faster it will mature. Even commercial banana producers will use ethylene gas to control ripening to send bananas to retailers at specific stages.
You can take advantage of ethylene's ripening properties at home by putting your banana into a closed paper bag; the paper will trap ethylene while letting in enough oxygen to help move the process along. For even faster ripening, add an apple, pear, apricot, or avocado — they also release ethylene.
When trying this technique, it's important not to use a plastic bag because it won't allow enough oxygen in and can actually inhibit ripening. That's why bananas at the grocery store are often bagged in plastic---to keep them from ripening too soon.
Depending on how under-ripe your bananas were to start with, paper-bag ripening will take 1-3 days; putting the bag on top of your fridge or another warm location can speed it up even more. Check them daily, and when the bananas are firm and bright yellow with no trace of green, they're good for eating raw. Once brown spots start to appear, you can use them for baking.
Ripen Bananas In the Oven
What if you want to make banana bread today, not in two or three days? Try speed-ripening bananas in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with silicone or parchment. (The bananas may leak a little during baking.)
- Place unpeeled bananas on the baking sheet leaving some space between them, and bake for about half an hour. Check every 15 minutes to see if they're soft enough. The less ripe your bananas to start, the longer they will take.
- The peels will turn black when ready, and the fruit will be soft — too mushy for eating raw, but great for baking.
Ripen Bananas in the Microwave
You can zap firm yellow bananas to soft ripeness in just a few minutes. Here's how:
- Poke unpeeled bananas all over with a fork or knife.
- Then put them on a paper towel or plate and microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time, repeating until they're as soft as you want.
These bananas won't be quite as sweet as the oven-ripened versions, but they'll be mashable for your pancakes and quick breads.
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FAQs
You can take advantage of ethylene's ripening properties at home by putting your banana into a closed paper bag; the paper will trap ethylene while letting in enough oxygen to help move the process along. For even faster ripening, add an apple, pear, apricot, or avocado — they also release ethylene.
Will bananas ripen in a plastic bag? ›
You might assume a plastic bag would have the same effect as a paper one, but you'd be wrong. Storing bananas in plastic slows down the ripening process because it inhibits oxygen circulation, which you now know is vital in the ripening process.
How do you ripen bananas overnight without a paper bag? ›
Submerging bananas in rice or flour creates an environment rich in ethylene gas, encouraging them to ripen faster. Here's how: Completely cover the bananas in a bowl of rice or flour. Check on them after a day; you might find them ready for your pancakes or smoothies.
Do bananas ripen faster in the fridge or on the counter? ›
Refrigerating bananas will slow or stop the ripening process, preserving the fruit at its current state. This means that you should only refrigerate bananas once they've reached the precise level of ripeness you're looking for.
Can I eat a green banana? ›
Bananas are incredibly tasty and easy to eat. What's more, they're rich in many essential vitamins and minerals. Most people eat bananas when the fruit is yellow and ripe, but green unripe bananas are also safe to eat. However, some people dislike their taste and texture.
Should you refrigerate bananas? ›
Yes, you can absolutely store bananas in the fridge. Just keep in mind that the cool, dry climate slows the ripening process, which is why bananas aren't refrigerated in the supermarket. In other words, if you put green, unripe bananas in the fridge, they're likely to stay that way.
Does aluminum foil keep bananas fresh? ›
Cover the stem ends of each banana with plastic wrap or aluminium foil to reduce the release of ethylene gas. Bananas release high amounts of ethylene gas, which accelerates the proces of browning. Thus, to slow it down, separate the bananas from the bunch and then store them.
Do banana hooks really work? ›
Turns out there's a scientific reason you should be hanging your bananas from a hook. When you hang bananas, the ethylene gas works more slowly. Hanging bananas also prevents them from bruising on the counter, which they're more prone to do as they continue ripening.
Can I store bananas in a Ziploc bag? ›
Ditch the Plastic Bag
Bananas that are stored in plastic bags will ripen faster. Instead, keep your bananas at room temperature in a cool, dark place to be sure they receive fresh, well-ventilated air.
How long do you leave bananas in a paper bag? ›
Depending on how under-ripe your bananas were to start with, paper-bag ripening will take 1-3 days; putting the bag on top of your fridge or another warm location can speed it up even more. Check them daily, and when the bananas are firm and bright yellow with no trace of green, they're good for eating raw.
In order to speed up the ripening process, all you need to do is trap the ethene gas in with the banana by putting them in a paper bag – fruit gives off moisture, so you must use a bag that won't trap moisture. Ripening in a bag usually takes a day or so, but can be as speedy as overnight – just keep checking.
Does putting bananas in the freezer ripen them? ›
4 Methods to Quickly Ripen Bananas
The freezer method: This method takes several hours. Place unpeeled bananas in a sealable plastic freezer bag and put the whole plastic bag in the freezer until the peels turn black. Then move the bananas to the refrigerator to defrost.
Can I ripen bananas in an air fryer? ›
The air fryer method is not necessarily more effective at sweetening bananas, but it is a quicker process overall since it cuts down on pre-heating time. To ripen bananas in an air fryer, you only need to heat the air fryer to 355 degrees Fahrenheit and toss the fruit in for six minutes.
Does warmth make bananas ripen faster? ›
Answer. The ripening process for bananas can be sped up if heat is present. If you had a banana in a hot car or lying on the stove top while something was in the oven, a banana may ripen much faster. Also, refrigerating a banana will make the yellow peel turn dark but the ripening of the fruit itself will slow.
Do bananas ripen faster in the sun? ›
The heat and sun will encourage ripening, but this will take a few days. To cut a day off that ripening time, place the bananas (still in their peels) in a paper bag alone, or along with an apple or two. The bananas will give off ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening process for bananas, avocados, and other fruit.
Can you ripen a banana in a day? ›
Ripening in a bag usually takes a day or so, but can be as speedy as overnight – just keep checking. All over the internet, you'll find advice to 'cook' your bananas to ripeness. This method of 'ripening' bananas isn't really ripening them, though it does make them soft and easy to bake with.
What to do with bananas that won't ripen? ›
Place them in a paper bag
By putting them inside a bag, the concentration of ethylene increases, which accelerates ripening. Other fruits also produce ethylene. This is the case with apples and tomatoes, which can be put in the bag along with the bananas to speed things up.
