Bake them
Are your bananas not ripe enough to make our most popular banana bread recipe? The oven is your best ally when it comes to accelerating their ripening. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and place the skin-on bananas on a baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the peels are blackened and the inside is tender. They will then be perfect for baking!
The microwave is another option for ripening bananas in record time (think under a minute)! It is the fastest way when you’re up against the clock, but it is also a sacrifice when it comes to taste, as green bananas heated in this way tend to be bitter and less sweet.
Place them in a paper bag
Ah, the tried and true brown paper bag method. The process is simple: As they ripen, bananas release ethylene, a gas that plays a role in their yellow pigment. By putting them inside a bag, the concentration of ethylene increases, which accelerates ripening.
Other fruits also produce ethylene. This is the case with apples and tomatoes, which can be put in the bag along with the bananas to speed things up.
Enjoy them green
Green bananas are indigestible and the only way to eat them is by cooking them. They can be boiled, roasted or even fried, and can be enjoyed in recipes like our green banana and coconut milk soup. More tender than plantains, green bananas can replace the former in certain dishes if you don’t have any available. Given that green bananas cook faster, be sure to adapt the cooking time.
Did you know that bananas are one of the most consumed fruits in the world? Check out these 10 banana tidbits and learn a little more about this popular fruit.