What are they?
Bananas are sweet with firm and creamy flesh, they come prepackaged in their own yellow jackets and are available for harvest throughout the year.

Are they good for me?
Bananas are called the wonder food.  As well as being a favourite and easy to eat fruit for all age groups, they have many health benefits.  Bananas are rich in potassium which is an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function and therefore a banana a day proves very beneficial for hypertension. Bananas are a good source of vitamin B6. This vitamin is needed for the nervous system, for healthy skin and to produce energy in the body.  Also great for the immune system and supporting collagen, bananas are an excellent source of Vitamin C.  Overripe bananas provide the most antioxidants.  Under ripe (slightly green) bananas ferment in the stomach and provide Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) which are favourable to probiotics.

How to Store?
While bananas look resilient, they’re actually very fragile and care should be taken in their storage. They should be left to ripen at room temperature. Unripe bananas should not be placed in the refrigerator as this will interrupt the ripening process to where it will not be able to resume even if the bananas are returned to room temperature.

If you need to hasten the ripening process, you can place bananas in a paper bag or wrap them in newspaper, adding an apple/avocado  to accelerate the process.  Ripe bananas that will not be consumed for a few days can be placed in the refrigerator.  While their peel may darken, the flesh will not be affected. For maximum flavor when consuming refrigerated bananas, remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to come back to room temperature.

Very overripe bananas can be peeled and wrapped in a plastic wrapper/bag and placed in the freezer until needed.

For delicious banana ice cream, take banana out of the freezer and mash!