For Perfect Banana Bread Now, Stop Playing The Waiting Game

It's one of the most common banana bread mistakes: Never use unripe bananas when only overripe will do. A bunch of bananas that have gone brown might not look very appealing for snacking, but they offer baked goods a sweet, caramelized flavor that can't be achieved with an underripe, bland banana. Not only are unripe bananas tougher to incorporate into your batter, but they lack the flavor of their riper counterparts. 

There's a reason those overripe, brown bananas that have been sitting on your counter taste better in quick breads, cakes, and cookies. As bananas begin to ripen, their nutrients start to change, with starches breaking down and producing sugar. This is nature's not-so-subtle way of inspiring animals to select ripe fruits whose seeds are ready to be consumed and dispersed. You're basically doing your part in the process by cooking and eating ripe bananas.

When the longing for a fresh loaf of banana bread strikes, you don't want to find yourself without recipe-ready bananas. To prevent a dessert disaster, keep your freezer stocked with ripe bananas.

There are a few kitchen tricks that can help you speed up the banana ripening process. First, you can wrap them in a paper bag, which will help enclose the bananas' ethylene gas that causes the ripening process. This concentration of gas helps accelerate your bananas sweetening. For the second trick, try turning to your oven. Even unripe bananas will turn soft and sweet when roasted low and slow in the oven. 

However, for a fresh-from-the-oven slice in a snap, the best solution is to start storing your ripe bananas in the freezer. While you may commonly associate frozen bananas with smoothies, they also can make fantastic shortcut banana bread. Once you have a pile of ripe bananas on hand, peel and store them in an airtight container or zip top bag. You can then stash them in the freezer for up to two to three months. When you're ready to make banana bread, you don't even have to let them thaw. Simply zap them in the microwave until they are soft, then mash and mix into your waiting batter.