keeping bananas

buy the green ones.

in a week they should be just right...



edit
'just right' is open to interpretation...

I get the greenest I can find. Today I got lucky and they are truly green.
Incidentally Chiquita Banana company just fired every employee in Panama. I don't know what it signifies for consumers here.

Why'd they do that? According to chatgpt:

Here’s what actually happened:

In late April, banana workers at its Bocas del Toro plantations went on strike over proposed pension reforms. By May 22, Chiquita Panama fired all roughly 5,000 daily laborers—labeling the strike an “unjustified abandonment of work.” The walkout, later deemed illegal by a Panamanian court, had already cost the company about $75 million

In early June (June 2–5), the company dismissed all remaining employees, including approximately 1,600 administrative and farm staff, effectively leaving it with zero workforce in Panama .

So yes—the entirety of its Panama workforce, around 6,500–7,000 people, has been laid off amid the strike and subsequent shutdown of operations.

Have you tried dipping the stem in paraffin or encasing it tightly with plastic wrap?

I wrapped the stem in plastic wrap and set the bunch on the counter, far away from all foodstuffs. The only alternative I have discovered is freezing, which I don't want.

tried freezing them once... lesson learned, never again...

If you separate all the bananas instead of leaving them joined together they take a bit longer to ripen.

I had no idea! I don't have much use for bananas, but that is interesting.

Thank you. I was just realizing that.

Going bananas is the first step in keeping bananas.

Bananas are bent: keep them away from apples, pears and any other ethylenes.

If time flies like the wind then fruit flies like bananas and g marx the spot.

that's odd, i've experienced the exact opposite.

bananas definitely ripen faster when separated from the herd...

I need to buy two bunches and try each method under the same conditions. And call it a "scientific experiment."

Okay, that got me thinking so I googled it. The results are pretty mixed with some saying separating them slows down the ripening and others saying the exact opposite. Very strange.

Next time I go shopping I'll get green bananas and leave some joined together and separate the others and see what happens.

and now a musical interlude to pass the time while experients take place...



Bananarama ~ Cruel Summer

Try sealing the stem end on a few of them as well. Lately I've seen bunches of "organically grown" bananas with cellophane wrapped tightly around the common stem.

(While all these experiments are going on you might want to prepare to bake some banana bread.)

Frank Silver ~ Yes, We Have No Bananas
(1956 Ed Sullivan Shoo)

This makes more sense.

Thanks, man. You've provided a real service to the A2K banana-consuming community!