Bananas can quickly turn spotty and mushy if left in the wrong spot in the kitchen, and many people may be surprised to learn that a fruit bowl is one of the worst places to store them. 

That may sound bizarre but fruit produces a natural growth hormone called ethylene gas which allows it to ripen so it becomes much sweeter and flavourful. 

However, when too much fruit is piled on top of each other then too much ethylene gas will be in the air, which will cause the produce to ripen too quickly and spoil. 

Bananas are highly sensitive to ethylene gas but also produce a lot of it, so when stored in a fruit bowl they will only last a few days before they become overripe. 

Instead, Linda Tyler, a cook and founder of Gracious Vegan, has shared that the best to store yellow bananas is in the fridge.

Most people learn that bananas should never be stored in the fridge as it makes the peel turn black, but this happens because it is a tropical fruit not used to cold temperatures.

Linda has shared that storing bananas in the fridge will change the peel colour but the fruit inside the peel will still be yellow and the ethylene gas production will slow down so the bananas will stay fresh for much longer. 

Linda said: “If you have a banana that’s just past the green stage, maybe with a few brown spots, refrigeration will do two things to it.

"The skin will turn brown, and I mean brown [and] further softening of the banana will be delayed. This is a great way to prevent the bananas from getting very soft.”

She said: “If you can bring yourself to peeling that brown skin in the week following, you’ll find the banana inside to be firmer than its brothers and sisters left at room temperature, and its taste will be just fine.”

Storing bananas in the fridge is an easy way to keep them fresh, but make sure to only store yellow bananas that are beginning to ripen and never store green bananas this way. 

The cold temperature in the fridge will halt ethylene gas which fruit needs in order to ripen, and green bananas will not be able to mature so they will be hard and unsweetened. 

It is much more effective to store green bananas away from other fruit in your kitchen such as on the kitchen counter or in a cupboard, then transfer it to the fridge once they turn yellow. 

Gracie said: “I tried refrigerating a couple of green bananas. The good news is that the peel didn’t turn brown. But the bad news is that the banana inside didn’t start to ripen, so it wasn’t sweet or tasty – it just kind of stalled in the pre-ripened state.” 

For best results, store newly bought green bananas at room temperature away from the fruit bowl, then place the yellow bananas in the fridge so they stay fresh for two weeks longer than they would normally last.