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Should I Put Bananas in the Fridge?

Most of us usually refrigerate the excess of fruits and vegetables so that it can be used over a longer period of time. Due to the climatic control present in the fridge, it helps the fruits and vegetables retain their moisture and freshness, than when kept at room temperature. So if you want to keep your fruits fresh longer, be sure to refrigerate them (if possible in zip pouches), but then there are queries abound about the effectiveness of putting bananas in the fridge, is it ok to do so or are there any harmful effects of refrigerating bananas?

The simple answer to the question of putting bananas in the fridge would be – Yes, but only after they have ripened enough to make them edible. So it’s a “conditional” yes. It would be mistake to put bananas in the fridge when they are not ripe enough, because then they will stop ripening on the inside while the skin starts turning yellowish black on the outside (giving you an impression that it has ripened), and when you eat an unripe banana it’s not going to be pleasant for your stomach because of the indigestible starch content.

How should I store bananas?

When bananas are being transported, they are usually plucked unripe from the trees and kept in containers at room temperature. At the shops again, these fruits are allowed to ripen at room temperature in the store house, sometimes in the presence of some ripening chemicals. So when you purchase bananas, you have the option of picking up unripe ones and then ripening it at home, or you can simply pick up ripe bananas for immediate consumption or refrigeration.

If you pick up unripe bananas, with the intention of eating it over a period of time, then you should be careful about storing it at home. Don’t put these unripe bananas in the fridge, that would be a big mistake, simply because the flesh of these fruits will stop ripening under cold condition while the skin will ripen into a black mush. So when you eat these bananas they will be tasteless, and will be high in starch content which your stomach would find unappealing. The best thing to do would be to store these bananas in paper bags (to avoid fruit flies), and place these paper bags at room temperature till they start ripening.

Ripe bananas can be immediately used for consumption or they can be stored in the fridge. Yes you heard it right, ripe bananas can be stored in the fridge, contrary to what uninformed friends or family members have to say on this issue. When you store ripe bananas in the fridge, the flesh of these fruits tend to stay fresh (they don’t ripen further) while the skin becomes dull yellowish black or brown in color. So the skin looks unappealing but the flesh is just as tasty. If you go by aesthetics then you will not like to eat a banana with a dull brown skin, but if you go by the taste you will find that it’s just as sweet and delicious.

You can also employ another method for storing bananas. When the fruit get ripe, simply peel off the skin, put the flesh in a zip pouch, and place it in the freezer compartment of your fridge. The flesh will remain fresh and edible for as long as two to three weeks, and you can enjoy a banancicle whenever you feel like it – it’s tasty and gives you an ice-cream feel.

Hope this answers your query on should I place bananas in the fridge. The simple thumb rule is that when you put bananas in the fridge the flesh stops ripening, so simply avoid refrigerating the unripe ones.

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