It seems that in the last year or so the bananas I buy that come in plastic bags seem to very often go from unripe to soft and mushy in a very short time.  They look ok when I buy them but quickly go bad in just a day or so.  I don't recall ever having this problem before.

 

I remember reading that banana prices in Thailand have been affected by shortages due to greater cultivation of Cavendish bananas for export and I wonder if this is related somehow. 

 

Just curious if anyone has had this banana problem and if anyone knows why?

 

Edited March 30, 20179 yr by ricklev

Yes.

Don't know why.

It's not totally new to my experience though. 

I can tell you why,they use gas to ripen them ..any further detail I'm sure the Off Grid members who post in Farming know exactly what Gas n how. Good post.[emoji529][emoji529]


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Our home bananas, several different types, take several days and often a week to get squishy. No change so the gas ripening seems likely suspect.

 

 

Bananas dont last long at the best of  times, I have 4  varieties here and can never eat them fast enough so give  most away to an old  biddy who cooks them and sells  them...I get the odd free bag.

 About 5-6  days from green to mush, depends on variety but I do keep them indoors at about 25c which should slow them down a bit

Well, if they're not the fast mush kind, you can take the JUST ripe ones and refrigerate and they will still not be mush for a week or so even though the skin turns black. The fast mush ones treated the same way go total mush much quicker.

There is a level of mushiness that I will still eat as it's still OK in breakfast cereal. Total mush of course is bin worthy but I guess you could still use those for banana bread or something like that. 

 

I'm big on the health benefits of bananas so I feel I need a big ol' banana every day. It's not always easy having an edible one in stock. 

Edited March 30, 20179 yr by Jingthing

They use Carbide rocks,releases Acetaline type gas.Cover banana with gas stone underneath for 2Nights.They do same with Mango


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I try not to buy bananas at the Dept store as most have been gas ripened and buy from the local markets or the side of the road,and only buy small amounts 3-4 for 15-20 baht so they can be consumed without waste. 

5 hours ago, kannot said:

Bananas dont last long at the best of  times, I have 4  varieties here and can never eat them fast enough so give  most away to an old  biddy who cooks them and sells  them...I get the odd free bag.

 About 5-6  days from green to mush, depends on variety but I do keep them indoors at about 25c which should slow them down a bit

Keep them away from other fruit also as they seem to accelerate the ripening of things like apples. That was for shop-bought 'nanas, dunno, might be something to do with the processing having an effect. Same as @kannot can't eat ones at home quick enough.

 

Hang 'em up also.

Ripening is one thing. Going from ripe directly to total mush very quickly is another. 

We have a few kinds of bananas at our house. It  seems to me this happens 2 different ways. The biggest factor on going mushy is

when the bananas were picked. By this I mean what stage of ripeness. Too early and they will start being mushy before they are even ripe. Harvest to late and as soon as they are ripe they start to go mushy,these ones will be mushy in 24 hours.

  If the farmer harvests at the wrong time the consumer has mushy bananas.

Edited March 30, 20179 yr by lovelomsak

If you break the bananas off the bunch and keep them individual they will ripen slower.

3 minutes ago, pieeyed said:

If you break the bananas off the bunch and keep them individual they will ripen slower.

You are right. I normally take the whole bunch from the tree and hang it on the veranda. They ripen from top down. Anyone who visits helps themselves. I can normally get through a bunch by the time the bottom ones are going black.

 

Last bunch I cut into hands as wifey said she'd sell them. She didn't and they all ripened at the same time.

 

I can eat up to 6 small ones a day but couldn't keep up and eventually fed the rest to the chickens.

We have a few kinds of bananas at our house. It  seems to me this happens 2 different ways. The biggest factor on going mushy is
when the bananas were picked. By this I mean what stage of ripeness. Too early and they will start being mushy before they are even ripe. Harvest to late and as soon as they are ripe they start to go mushy,these ones will be mushy in 24 hours.
  If the farmer harvests at the wrong time the consumer has mushy bananas.

Good banana management is essential in hot weather. I stick them in my air conditioned bedroom at night. The too ripe ones can be refrigerated or frozen to use in smoothies.


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Heat will quicken bananas to go ripe. Try putting them in a cool place and separating them. 

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I'll try separating them etc.

 

What I was wondering about was whether or not others have noticed a similar trend in the bananas in plastic bags going from slightly ripe to completely mushy in a day or so? 

 

They didn't used to do this, or at least not so much that I noticed, so I'm curious if there has been some change in the way they gas them for ripening or harvest them.  Lovlamsak suggests that it is related to when they are picked and I wonder what the economic reason for that might be.

 

Of course maybe I've just had a long run of bad banana luck!  

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 20179 yr by ricklev

I like to take ripe (not mushy) banana, simply wrap in kitchen plastic wrap then freeze. Take out next day onward and have excellent cold snack. 

As soon as one banana starts to turn from green it has already started to emit a gas that has started all the others. Even if you split them up after that point they will all fully ripen at the same time. Keeping them cool will slow it but won't stop it.

Am I a sucker for an urban myth?

 

I thought the reason to keep the bananas in a plastic bag was to slow down the ripening process by keeping out oxygen.  Then when you open the bag, they ripen faster.

 

Whenever I buy 3 or 4 bags at Foodland, I open them one bag at a time and the others don't seem to ripen as fast.  Obviously that wouldn't work on bananas bought unsealed from the street.

 

Or have I been misled in the name of banana profiteering?

On 30/03/2017 at 2:30 PM, Ace of Pop said:

They use Carbide rocks,releases Acetaline type gas.Cover banana with gas stone underneath for 2Nights.They do same with Mango


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A few ripe bananas releasing their own ethylene would kick of the ripening and would be cheaper I reckon.  C2H4. ?

The stones release ethylene, its cheap, accurate n roadside sellers like it to catch the busy traffic days passing trade round here

11 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

The stones release ethylene, its cheap, accurate n roadside sellers like it to catch the busy traffic days passing trade round here

I thought calcium carbide released acetylene?  Used in the very old type miners lamps.     Maybe both gases have the same effect. Back to the chemistry books I reckon.

It goes Bang,same stuff Village Kids put in Bamboo pipes to make Mud Guns.[emoji378]


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5 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

It goes Bang,same stuff Village Kids put in Bamboo pipes to make Mud Guns.


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acetyline lamp.

On Thursday, March 30, 2017 at 2:30 PM, Ace of Pop said:

They use Carbide rocks,releases Acetaline type gas.Cover banana with gas stone underneath for 2Nights.They do same with Mango


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You get the same effect by storing bananas and pineapples together. No need for gas.

38 minutes ago, overherebc said:

acetyline lamp.

Banana-powered?

8 minutes ago, grollies said:

Banana-powered?

Not really HSSE friendly. As I am after eating too many bananas.

Edited April 1, 20179 yr by overherebc

On 3/30/2017 at 2:30 PM, Ace of Pop said:

They use Carbide rocks,releases Acetaline type gas.Cover banana with gas stone underneath for 2Nights.They do same with Mango


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Never heard of that method.

This is a good read.

http://www.frontlineservices.com.au/Frontline_Services/Fruit_ripening_gas_-_ethylene.html

 

Also, bananas can be frozen and although the skin will turn black in the freezer, the fruit will remain as it was when frozen.  This is how bodybuilders keep from running to the market every other day to get non-squishy bananas.

Hmm.

I never thought of freezing them.

Wouldn't they be degraded quality if you defrost them?

Ever tried frozen durian defrosted? Vile. 

 

 

I generally buy too many and put them in the fridge when ripe, but I still have some wastage that way. 

Edited April 1, 20179 yr by Jingthing

Not going to ask locals anymore for You.Took me ages to find out .Put Old Rag over dem n splash water on deez tings for 2 nights..Just too easy really .?


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