Properly Ripening Bananas

By John Newcomb

Bananas are one of the most versatile foods on the planet. The are easy to pack, have a outer shell to protect their sweet and creamy flesh, provide instant energy when you need it, and are delicious!

Properly ripened bananas are the key to best taste and nutrition. Un-ripe bananas are not as healthful because they have not properly developed their sugars making them more difficult to digest and less nutritious. Depending on the state of ripeness at the time of purchase, proper ripening can take up to 7 days or longer.

Ripen bananas at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. Occasional sun is fine but if allowed to become to warm for prolonged periods, bananas will become soft with an unpleasing texture. Below are some pictures to help you gauge when a banana is truly ripe.

The bananas above are almost, but not fully ripe. The dark brown speckling is a sign of ripeness but the green on the tips (flowering end) and stems indicate that they are still slightly under-ripe. These bananas have about 24 hours or so to go before they are fully ripe

Here is a close-up of the banana tip. Note the green color. When the fruits are fully ripe, this green color will disappear.

A fully ripened banana makes the most wonderful and sweet smoothies. An average sized banana contains about 100 calories. A smoothie, containing 5-6 bananas is an ideal lunch meal or after workout recovery drink. Here are some recipes for you to enjoy:

Strawberry Fields

5-6 fresh ripe bananas
3/4 C water
3/4 C frozen organic strawberries

Blend until smooth in Vita Mix or other blender. Berrylicious!

Peach Melba

5-6 fresh ripe bananas
3/4 C water
1/2 C frozen organic peaches
1/4 C frozen organic raspberries

Blend until smooth in Vita Mix or other blender.

Tropical Breeze

5-6 fresh ripe bananas
3/4 C water
3/4 C frozen pineapple (available at Trader Joe's or you can freeze your own)

Blend until smooth in Vita Mix or other blender. Delicious and refreshing!