How Can I Hasten the Ripening of Bananas?

[Shel_B]

I have some bananas that are close to the point of ripeness for use in banana bread.  I'd like to make the bread in two days.  I need the bananas to be very ripe - they have plenty of brown spots on them now, and I want them even riper.  How can I speed up the ripening process?

[Plantes Vertes]

Put them in a warm place, in a paper bag, with an apple. Both the bananas themselves and the apple give off ethylene, which promotes ripening apparently, and that is trapped and concentrated in the paper bag.

[Anna N]

I have some bananas that are close to the point of ripeness for use in banana bread.  I'd like to make the bread in two days.  I need the bananas to be very ripe - they have plenty of brown spots on them now, and I want them even riper.  How can I speed up the ripening process?

Put them in the oven

http://www.thekitchn.com/can-you-quickly-ripen-bananas-in-the-oven-for-lastminute-banana-bread-putting-tips-to-the-test-in-the-kitchn-201764

[lesliec]

I advise caution - if they're already spotty and your baking day is still two days away, accelerating their natural ripening may get you beyond the point you want.

[Shel_B]

Put them in the oven

http://www.thekitchn.com/can-you-quickly-ripen-bananas-in-the-oven-for-lastminute-banana-bread-putting-tips-to-the-test-in-the-kitchn-201764

 

I won't try that this time.  I need the bananas to attain a very ripe state, not just soft and mushy, which is the only description of the bananas I could find.

[pbear]

I'd recommend a hybrid approach.  Start with the paper bag - apple not necessary IMHO, as bananas are themselves very high in ethylene - then look to the oven method as a backup if they haven't ripened quite enough by baking day.

[Mjx]

If you want them super-gross and mushy, yeh, into a plastic bag with an apple and seal, but seriously, Shel, they're bananas, not bricks, you can mash them up even if they're green, and they still taste of banana.

[Shel_B]

[...] but seriously, Shel, they're bananas, not bricks, you can mash them up even if they're green, and they still taste of banana.

 

I'm experimenting with a new recipe, and want the bananas to be very ripe and high in sugar.

[Shel_B]

I advise caution - if they're already spotty and your baking day is still two days away, accelerating their natural ripening may get you beyond the point you want.

 

I'll be watching them ... thanks for the cautionary words.

[Shel_B]

Excerpt from an article I read about ripening bananas:

 

One theory, holds that freezing or roasting underripe bananas in their skins will quickly render them

sweet and soft enough for baking. While these methods do turn the bananas black—giving them the

appearance of their super-sweet, overripe brethren—they actually do little to encourage the necessary

conversion of starch to sugar.

 

What I want are bananas that are quite sweet and very ripe.  Based on the article I read, the oven method of "ripening" bananas wont give the required results.

[Simon Lewinson]

Shel, I agree. Enzymes, ethylene and oil' Father Time are your allies in this quest. I assume thatbyoumare after whatbincsll a "drinking banana", one that has almost liquified, has an intensely sweet banana flavour and is the best for baking things like banana bread. I have found that they are at their sweetest when almost totally black and need to be picked up with extreme care lest they break in half under their own weight.

My preferred method is to leave them in a bowl on the counter top covered loosely by cling wrap. This keeps in most of the ethylene and allowsw you to monitor the ripening without excess handling.

Simon

[cakewalk]

Sounds like you already have ripe bananas. You're working towards overripe and even rotten bananas. But maybe that's what you want.

[Shel_B]

Sounds like you already have ripe bananas.

 

Yes

 

 

You're working towards overripe and even rotten bananas. But maybe that's what you want.

 

No, I want very ripe bananas, not over ripe or rotten bananas, that have a certain amount of sugar in them and from which I can easily extract moisture.  There's a fine line between very ripe and over ripe, and I want to get close to that line without crossing it.

[Shel_B]

Shel, I agree. Enzymes, ethylene and oil' Father Time are your allies in this quest. I assume thatbyoumare after whatbincsll a "drinking banana", one that has almost liquified, has an intensely sweet banana flavour and is the best for baking things like banana bread. I have found that they are at their sweetest when almost totally black and need to be picked up with extreme care lest they break in half under their own weight.

My preferred method is to leave them in a bowl on the counter top covered loosely by cling wrap. This keeps in most of the ethylene and allowsw you to monitor the ripening without excess handling.

Simon

 

Not quite liquefied, but which, as you say, has an intensely sweet banana flavor. I want 'em just a bit before they are frangible, and when mashed and added to the batter can retain small pieces that have a very slight bite to them - a bit past al dente but not quite mushy.  Hard to describe, but I'll know when I've got it.  I suspect you know what I'm talking about.

 

In the bowl is nice, but it's easy enough to open the bag and look in.

[liuzhou]

I spend most of my time trying to slow down the ripening so, once again, I have nothing to offer in the way of sensible suggestions other than "move to the tropics. 

[Simon Lewinson]

In the bowl is nice, but it's easy enough to open the bag and look in.

The only issue with opening the bag is losing the ethylene gas that has accumulated as it is lighter than air. This will lengthen the ripening time.

Simon

[Shel_B]

The only issue with opening the bag is losing the ethylene gas that has accumulated as it is lighter than air. This will lengthen the ripening time.

Simon

 

Thanks!  Never thought about that.  Does releasing the gas have any effect on the flavor of the ripened bananas?

[jmacnaughtan]

If you're making banana bread, then it's not really going to make a difference if you're a couple of days over or under.  Unless you have an extremely good palate, there's no way you'll be able to tell the difference between very ripe, slightly over and slightly under banana once it's baked.  If you want to increase the banana flavor, you might want to add a little banana liqueur, or make a banana soak for when it comes out of the oven.

 

Also, I recommend puréeing the bananas and passing them through a seive.  It's easier to incorporate into the batter, and you won't get any of those ugly black "worms" you often get in banana bread.

[weinoo]

I would actually do experiments with multiple bags and bowls of bananas to find exactly what you're looking for.  After all, it's a quite affordable product, and this way you can scientifically and empirically decide what works best!

 

Me? I just let bananas sit on the counter; when they're past the point of what I like to eat out of hand, I either peel and freeze them for smoothies, or make a loaf of banana bread.  Of course, my wife and I enjoy bananas out of hand at different stages of ripeness, so it becomes a bit of a challenge sometimes to make her happy.  She prefers less sweet and soft as her perfect ripeness level.

[weinoo]

It's easier to incorporate into the batter, and you won't get any of those ugly black "worms" you often get in banana bread.

I have never pureed my bananas, just mashed, and I have never seen any worms in my banana bread either.

[Shel_B]

 If you want to increase the banana flavor, you might want to add a little banana liqueur, or make a banana soak for when it comes out of the oven.

 

 

That's the plan - doing something like that to increase the banana flavor, but by extracting some liquid from the bananas and concentrating its flavor.

[Plantes Vertes]

She prefers less sweet and soft as her perfect ripeness level.

 

Or maybe she just likes to beat you to it, muahahahahah!

[Simon Lewinson]

Thanks!  Never thought about that.  Does releasing the gas have any effect on the flavor of the ripened bananas?

Not that I am aware of, but it is possible that speeding up the ripening changes the flavour profile. Like other produce, naturally ripened is generally better but it would be hard to do a quantitative study.

Simon

[weinoo]

Not that I am aware of, but it is possible that speeding up the ripening changes the flavour profile. Like other produce, naturally ripened is generally better but it would be hard to do a quantitative study.

Simon

Why would that be hard to do?

[Simon Lewinson]

My experience is that even adjacent bananas in a hand ripen quite differently. I don't know why this is but I have had a banana that is black and liquifying next to one that is still spotty and firm.

Simon