File this under “Things I Can’t Remember How I Learned but Have Often Been Handy to Know”:

Bananas like the weather
At the tropical equator
So never ever put one
In the refrigerator.


There are 25 comments on this post

  1. Although I’ve also heard that maxims such as this one were the result of marketing campaigns by banana companies who tried to get you to have your fruit spoil faster so you’d buy more. In other words, bananas in the fridge are actually just fine.

  2. If you gimmie alittle while I could dig up a Dole Banana ad from Boy’s Life or My Weekly Reader That has That maxim plus others. Chris is wrong, do not refrigerate bananas. this accelerates the browning process, in spite of the possibility of some trilateraslist bananagrowers campaign.
    I doubt very much that there is such an evil and,I dare say, accurate, plot to get you to buy more bananas. They’re just tring to help.

  3. according to dole bananas “You can store bananas in the refrigerator if you want to keep them for a longer time. However, the peel of this tropical fruit will darken. But the banana inside will remain firm and delicious.”

    http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbanana.html

  4. avatar
    Anthony Rosborough

    I have JUST eaten a banana in the fridge about 45 seconds ago, and it was completely fine. IT was even cut in half and wrapped up and put back in the fridge.
    it seriously didnt even brown. just the part where it was cut was kind of brown, but the peels and everything were still just yellow and fine.
    I dunno, i doubt the fridge has anything to do with the browning process, who cares anyway.. its just a banana.
    hah

  5. Wow!… you guys have helped me a lot! I’m doing a science project on wheather a banana will brown faster either in the refridgerator or on the counter and this has helped a lot! I just thought I should let you know!

  6. I am too and didnt find the help you did what do you mean i cant find anything on the browning process of a bannana or what makes it brown help me

  7. I am doing a project on this too, and yes it is true the peel will brown faster in the fridge but the banana inside will be okay…but i need to know WHY! Why does the peel brown faster in the fridge?!!!

  8. I wish somebody will tell me which one is going to brown faster in the frige or on the counter and why why why ??????

  9. hi. i am doing a project on which will a banana stay fresher. in fridge or counter? so… does it stay fresher in the fridge or on the counter? please tell me. thank you

  10. I Dont Really Care About Banana Care I Was Looking For A Science Fair Project

  11. Bananas are good either way, hah does this really matter?

  12. If you put banana’s in the fridge they will get all black, i’ve seen it a hundred times, i work in a smoothie resturaunt

  13. i dunno, my grandmother has kept banana’s in the fridge for years and it’s fine, or so it seems.

  14. who cares bros! they’z just be bananas.

    i luv em either wayyyy

  15. Another handy tip: Squirting lemon juice on sliced apples will prevent them from browning (at least in the short run).

  16. My only question: Is the nutritional value of a banana decreased if it is refrigerated?

  17. Putting bananas in the fridge is much better I’ve found. Sure, the peel will go dark quickly, but what’s inside stays fresh for weeks and tastes exactly the same as the day they were bought. Bananas outside the fridge will go brown and alter taste in a matter of days.

  18. Hey with the storage, should there be a certain degrees(between temperature) for bananas to atsy good.Or help ripen quicker.
    Also what care needs to be taken when using a banana when preparing a dish.

  19. I just bought banana’s two days ago, green, and my boyfriend put them in the fridge so they’d keep longer. Not only are they already brown on the skin (brown and green, how strange!) but the banana itself is mushy and really inedible. I’m on the side of not refrigerating them, at least not until they’re ripe first…

  20. avatar
    Joseph Meisenhelder

    Amanda, I have discovered that if green bananas are sealed in a plastic bag after the air is pushed out and then placed in the refrigerator, they can stay good for almost two months.

    When the bag is opened though,preserving gases that build up from the bananas escape and the deterioration process accelerates.

    If the green bananas are kept sealed, though, they can be just turning a good yellow after about 6 weeks.

    I have begun a group to spread the news that with the technique I discovered, bananas can be refrigerated without the skins getting blackened. I discovered it in May 2007, but I see that Anthony Rosborough discovered it on or before 08.26.05, even.

  21. avatar
    Joseph Meisenhelder

    I keep a few weeks supply of bananas in the refrigerator all the time using the sealed plastic bags. For maximum preservation, it would be best to seal each banana separately since when a bag is opened to remove bananas, preservation gases escape.

  22. I’m also doing a project on this too, and I also need to know why bananas stay riper in the refridgerator than any other place! Anyone know? Please help.

  23. avatar
    Joseph Meisenhelder

    Christina, I think you could do an experiment to test various causes and effects.

  24. A banana in the fridge will brown faster because The cold temperature makes a banana’s skin brown faster. Also because it gets less air and gets odour from other foods that are in the refrigerator!

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