Can Bananas be Refrigerated?

We all just know that you’re not supposed to refrigerate bananas, right? Well, what if we broke the rules? I did just that and took a few pictures. 

Refrigerating bananas that are just starting to ripen — yes!

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.

• Further softening of the banana will be delayed. This is a great way to prevent the bananas from getting very soft.

Medium-ripe bananas like the one on the right can be refrigerated to slow down the ripening process.

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. 

In other words, if you like “medium” bananas, you should consider refrigerating them just after they lose their green cast. 

Refrigerating green bananas — a no-no

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.

Freezing bananas — yes!

None of the above applies to freezing bananas. If you have soft, sweet, very ripe bananas, you’re looking at great candidates for smoothies and nice cream. Just peel and slice the bananas, spread the slices out in plastic bags, and freeze the bags in a flat position so the slices don’t clump together. When you’re ready to make your smoothie or nice cream, your frozen banana slices are waiting for you!