ShelfLife
How long do bananas last?
Keep bananas on the counter until they're ripe. After that, the fridge keeps them about 3 more days (the skin turns black but the inside stays fine), and peeled bananas keep 2 to 3 months in the freezer.
| Food | Fridge | Freezer | Pantry |
|---|---|---|---|
| BananasFridge time is for ripe bananas; the skin turns black. | 3 days | 2–3 months | Until ripe |
Fridge at 4 °C (40 °F) or colder, freezer at −18 °C (0 °F). Freezer times are for best quality: food kept frozen stays safe, but slowly loses taste and texture. These times are USDA guidance, not a guarantee. When in doubt, throw it out.
How to tell if a banana has gone bad
- Brown spots on the skin are normal: the banana is riper and sweeter, and perfect for baking.
- Mold, usually on the stem or around splits in the skin.
- Liquid leaking from the skin, or flesh that is mushy, brown all the way through or smells fermented, like alcohol.
- Fruit flies around the bunch are a sign it's overripe, not necessarily spoiled.
How to store bananas
- Keep unripe bananas at room temperature, away from direct sun and heat.
- Bananas release ethylene, a gas that speeds up ripening. Keep them apart from other fruit unless you want that fruit to ripen faster.
- To slow ripening, separate the bananas from the bunch. To speed it up, put them in a paper bag.
- Once ripe, move them to the fridge. The skin darkens within a day, but the fruit inside keeps for about 3 days.
Can you freeze bananas?
Yes, for 2 to 3 months, and overripe bananas are the best ones to freeze. Peel them first: frozen skins are very hard to remove. Freeze them whole or in slices in a freezer bag. Frozen bananas turn soft when thawed, so use them in smoothies, banana bread or pancakes.
Questions
Should you keep bananas in the fridge?
Only once they're ripe. Cold stops unripe bananas from ripening properly and turns the skin black, but it slows down ripe ones by about 3 days.
Are bananas with brown spots safe to eat?
Yes. Brown spots mean the starch has turned to sugar. Throw a banana out only if it's moldy, leaking or smells fermented.
How long do cut bananas last?
A day or so in the fridge in a closed container. Brush the cut side with lemon juice to slow browning.
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Storage times: USDA FoodKeeper (Food Safety and Inspection Service), public domain. Text by ShelfLife.