Buzz
Sometimes, you may need a ripe banana as an ingredient for a dish or simply because you crave the sweet and creamy flavor of a ripe banana. Whatever the reason, there are many simple and quick methods to help you ripen bananas faster. Using a paper bag is the best way to ripen bananas for eating, while using a microwave is the ideal method for ripening bananas meant for cooking. Below are the steps to ripen bananas quickly using both methods:
Steps
Ripening in a Paper Bag
Prepare a brown paper bag, the bananas you want to ripen, and an apple or tomato. Placing bananas in the paper bag with other fruits will increase the amount of ethylene gas. Ethylene is a gas released by ripening fruits. Essentially, this gas accelerates the ripening process, giving you soft and creamy bananas.
Place the bananas in the bag.
Add tomatoes and/or apples to the bag with the bananas. Ensure the tomatoes are not overly ripe, as they may burst or bruise in the paper bag. If apples or tomatoes are unavailable, you can substitute them with pears.
Seal the bag tightly. Roll or fold the top of the bag to prevent the ethylene gas released by the fruits from escaping.
Place the fruit bag in a warm area. Higher temperatures encourage fruits to release more ethylene gas, speeding up the ripening process.
Leave the bananas overnight. Keep the bananas and other fruits in the paper bag overnight. The next morning, check if the bananas have reached your desired ripeness. If not, reseal the bag and check every 12 hours until the bananas are ripe enough.
- Green bananas ripened in a paper bag should turn yellow or develop brown spots within 24 hours.
Ripening in the Oven
Preheat the oven to 150°C. If your oven has a light, turn it on to monitor the ripening process of the bananas.
Place the bananas on a baking tray. Arrange only 3-4 bananas on the tray, avoiding overcrowding. Note that this method is not suitable for ripening green bananas but works well for nearly ripe bananas (yellow skin).
Bake the bananas in the oven. The baking time depends on how you plan to use the bananas.
If you intend to use the bananas for cooking, bake them for about 1 hour. After an hour, the banana skins will turn completely black, and the bananas will be perfectly ripe for smoothies or baked goods like banana bread.
If you want to eat the bananas immediately, bake them for 20 minutes. Bananas baked in the oven are ready to eat when their skins turn a darker yellow without black spots. This process typically takes 20 minutes, but keep a close eye on them to remove them at the right time.
- After taking the bananas out of the oven, refrigerate them to cool and prevent further ripening. Once completely cooled, the bananas are ready to eat.
Tips
- Bananas left in a bunch will ripen faster.
- If you don’t want to ripen bananas immediately, hang the bunch to mimic how bananas grow on trees, which slows ripening by 2-3 days.
- Refrigerate bananas to stop further ripening.
Warnings
- If you want bananas to continue ripening, avoid refrigerating green bananas. Cold temperatures disrupt the ripening process, and once removed from the fridge, they won’t ripen further.
- While some people enjoy eating green bananas or the unripe tips, unripe bananas can be hard to digest due to their high starch content.
What You'll Need
- Green bananas (unripe)
- Paper bag
- Ripe tomatoes
- Ripe apples
- Baking tray
