Baby Bananas

How do you pick a ripe banana?

Choose bananas according to the peel color and ripeness desired. Select full-yellow bananas for salads or immediate eating. Use fully ripe bananas, with speckles on the peel for baking, smoothies or recipes that specify mashed bananas.

How do you store bananas?

Remove bananas from plastic produce bag and store at room temperature. The warmer it is, the faster the bananas will ripen. To slow ripening, refrigerate (peel will turn black but the fruit inside will be fresh and ripe). Bananas can be frozen once the banana is peeled and stored in a freezer bag until ready to use (use a bit of fresh lemon juice to reduce browning). If bananas are too green, place them in a brown paper bag, in a warm dry area (but not in direct sunlight) for a day or two to encourage ripening. If there is still not enough yellow appearing on the peel, place a ripe apple in the bag with the bananas.