Why Grocery Stores Bind Banana Stems In Plastic Wrap

Bananas are inexpensive fruits that provide a wide array of nutrients, including vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, and manganese. They're delicious on their own, with peanut butter, in a yogurt parfait, or as part of a banana split. Bananas can turn quickly, though, and there isn't a whole lot to do with a batch of brown bananas aside from making a loaf of banana bread. 

In an effort to keep bananas fresher for longer, some grocery stores bind banana stems in plastic wrap, which may seem like an unnecessary use of plastic, but it's actually an ingenious way to keep bananas ripe and reduce food waste. Covering the stems helps reduce the amount of ethylene that the bananas produce, which also slows the ripening process. If you're looking to extend the life of bananas in your home, you can take a page out of the grocery store's book and slow banana ripening by wrapping the stems with plastic wrap or even foil.

Some fruits continue to ripen after they're picked while others don't, which is why different fruits need to be stored in different ways. Before bananas are picked, they have a steady state of ethylene. As soon as bananas are picked from the tree, their stems are exposed to air, and they begin to release ethylene gas from their stems. The increased exposure to ethylene gas actually turns off genes within bananas that are responsible for growth. This causes them to continually ripen once they're picked and as long as they sit on the grocery store shelf or in your home.

However, if you wrap the stems of bananas in plastic wrap or even in foil, you can reduce the amount of ethylene that is produced, which also slows the ripening process. This is why you might see wrapped stems at the grocery store. When you pick up your next bunch of bananas, you can use this trick to help your bananas ripen to your liking; if they're ready to eat and you want to prolong their freshness, wrap each banana stem in plastic wrap.

Wrapping the stems in plastic wrap isn't the only way to extend the life of your bananas. One of the simplest ways to ensure your bananas last longer is to buy green bananas from the store. Because they're picked when they're still green and are further from being ripe, you'll get some extra time before they turn brown.

You can also use storage temperature to your advantage to keep your bananas ripe. You can store unpeeled ripe bananas in the refrigerator, and you can store peeled ripe bananas in the freezer. You may notice that your refrigerated or frozen bananas don't smell quite as aromatic as fresh bananas, but they're still good to eat.

Finally, simply treating your bananas with care can extend their life. Bananas bruise extremely easily, and you've probably noticed in the past that bruised areas on bananas get very mushy. Use a banana keeper or hang your bananas to prevent them from being banged or bruised. By wrapping your banana stems in plastic wrap when you bring them home and employing any of these other methods, you can enjoy bananas that last significantly longer.