Keep bananas fresh for longer using common £1 household item

There are few things that are as frustrating as seeing the fresh fruit you've just bought go bad right in front of your eyes before you have a chance to eat it.

Bananas are the go-to breakfast fruit; whether spread on toast or mixed into porridge, they're a delightful start to the day. However, their tendency to spoil quickly often deters people from buying them in bulk.

Many find their bananas would start to spot and rot within a day, leading not only to wasted money but also attracting pesky fruit flies during the summer months.

While there are many things you can do with browned bananas, such as banana bread or other treats, most people would most likely just prefer for their bananas to stay fresh for longer.

One person known online as '@sim_simmer__' has taken to TikTok to share the ultimate life hack on how using one common household item can help make your bananas stay fresh for longer.

In the video, she is seen cutting up a small rectangular piece of kitchen foil, although she said cling film also worked. Making sure the shiny side is out, she goes on to wrap the stems of the bananas tightly together.

"We're doing this to keep the ethylene gas in the stem," she explained, saying if it gets into the banana, it will make them ripen and go bad faster.

What is ethylene in bananas?

Bananas naturally produce a plant hormone called ethylene that causes them to ripen by breaking down cell walls, converting starches to sugars, and making them softer and sweeter, according to BBC's Science Focus. Because bananas release a high concentration of this gas, they can accelerate the ripening of other ethylene-sensitive fruits.

This is also why bananas are often stored separately from fruits like apples and pears, as the ethylene will also make these fruits go bad more quickly.

While it may look pretty and be convenient to keep all of your fresh fruits together in a fruit bowl, it's recommended to keep the bananas out and away of the bowl to prevent the ethylene from spreading.

Most ethylene escapes from the stem, which is why it's recommended to cover this with aluminium kitchen foil or cling film. This cover traps some gas at the source and slows the signal reaching the rest of the fruit.

Some also recommend to get a banana hook to specifically hang the bananas on in order to prevent them any bruising from laying on your kitchen counter, as bruising also boosts the spread of ethylene in the fruit.

People were quick to share their amazement in the comment section of the video, with one viewer writing: "I wish I saw this like a week ago."

One person also asked whether to store the bananas in the fridge or in room temperature after wrapping the stems, to which the creator recommended to keep them in room temperature.