"Exposure to air speeds up the browning exponentially. But a mason jar can extend the life of that banana, not just for a few hours, but for days. In fact, you could potentially store cut bananas for up to an entire month in a sealed jar without them turning brown. The key is to leave the peels on, seal the jar tightly, and refrigerate it."
"Bananas turn brown thanks to ethylene gas. Ethylene is a hormone that activates enzymes in the banana, advancing the ripening process. It's what causes bananas to go from yellow to brown, get softer, and become sweeter. Bananas produce this gas themselves, so it can't be avoided. This is why, if you want bananas to ripen faster, you put them in a paper bag. It also explains why putting them next to other ethylene-producing fruit makes them spoil too fast."
Bananas brown rapidly because they produce ethylene, a hormone that activates enzymes and accelerates ripening, causing color change, softening, and increased sweetness. Cutting a banana exposes interior tissue to oxygen and accelerates browning. Lowering temperature and oxygen slows ethylene production and ripening. Sealing cut bananas with peels intact inside a jar and refrigerating reduces air exposure and warmth, extending freshness from days up to potentially a month. Placing bananas in paper bags concentrates ethylene and speeds ripening, while proximity to other ethylene-producing fruit also hastens spoilage. The mason jar method leverages cold and low-oxygen storage to preserve cut bananas.
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