 | | January 27, 2026 |  |
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| Have you ever reached for a banana to snack on, only to find it turned an unappetizing brown color when you weren't looking? While bananas get a bad rap for having an incredibly short shelf life, that reputation isn't exactly accurate. Brown bananas are still completely safe to eat and are actually ideal for baking, where they lend a deep sweetness to breads and cakes. However, it's true they're only perfect for snacking during that short period of time between their underripe and overripe stages. |
 | | Credit: FreshSplash/ iStock |
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| Why Do Bananas Brown So Quickly? |
| The peel and the fruit of the banana change color for different reasons. For the peel, the culprit is ethylene gas — a natural ripening agent found in bananas, along with many other fruits and vegetables. This gas breaks down the green chlorophyll and acids into sugars, transforming the color of the peel from green to yellow, and later to brown. The fruit itself browns through a separate process called oxidation, which begins the moment the inside of the fruit is exposed to the air. |
| How To Slow Down Browning |
| Try this simple trick to slow down the browning process: Wrap your banana stems in aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a sustainable alternative such as compostable cling wrap. The stems are a major release point for ethylene gas; by covering them, you contain some of that gas and prevent it from triggering the ripening process in the rest of the fruit. With the ethylene flow restricted, you can extend the shelf life of your bunch. While wrapping the stems won't completely stop the bananas from browning, it will give you an extra three to five days to use them up. |
| Keep in mind that bananas aren't the only type of produce affected by ethylene gas. Apples, peaches, pears, mangoes, melons, tomatoes, avocados, and potatoes are all ethylene producers. That's why you should never store them together; their proximity can speed up the ripening process and cause them to brown even faster. Providing ample space between them ensures everything stays fresh for as long as possible. |
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| *This content is brought to you by our sponsor, which helps keep our content free. |
 | | Evercio Meal Plan and Grocery List Magnetic Notepad | | Get everyone in your household on the same page when planning weekly meals. This magnetic notepad has 52 pages (one for each week of the year) with sections for both your meal plan and your shopping list. A full-size magnet on the back keeps the pad securely in place, while the built-in rubber loop ensures a pen is always within reach. This specialized planner helps you avoid multiple trips to the grocery store and answers that nagging question: "What's for dinner tonight?" — Kelsey Morrison, House Outlook Editor |
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| Allegra Ringo is a California-based writer who has written for publications including Reductress, The Hard Times, VICE, and The Atlantic. She loves sparkling water and old Chihuahuas with hardly any teeth, like her dog Pistachio. |
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