A glass jar, a dark place and a constant temperature of 12 degrees are all you need to extend the life of this fruit beyond that of any kitchen air freshener.
The ripening of bananas is somewhat dramatic: they are green, they are perfect, and suddenly they turn black as if they were angry with the world. That’s why there are so many tricks circulating on social media: wrapping the stem in cling film, separating them in the fruit bowl, hanging them on hooks or even storing them in the fridge with absorbent paper.
But this method, unlike anything seen before, is causing a stir because it really works. The account that popularised it, @amycrosslegacy, claims that with this system, her bananas stay fresh and yellow for a whopping sixteen days, without browning or going soft.
It’s not magic, it’s home science done right: controlling temperature, light, and ethylene, the gas that speeds up ripening and ruins our best intentions to snack healthy.
The method couldn’t be simpler. It involves cutting the bananas and storing them in an airtight glass jar, preferably with a tight-fitting lid. They are then stored in a room without direct light and at a constant temperature of around 12 degrees. Not in the kitchen, which is the least thermally stable place. This prevents exposure to heat and slows down the natural ripening process.
Unlike other home remedies, here you don’t cover the stem with anything. No cling film, aluminium foil or damp cloths. The trick is to reduce contact with air and ethylene. Bananas, being in a controlled environment, do not ripen as quickly or change colour.
As the creator explains on TikTok, she started out of sheer necessity: her children would leave half a banana half-eaten and by the next day it would be brown. After trying different ways of storing them — at room temperature, in the fridge, covered — she ended up with the jar formula, which has already proved effective for up to 16 days.
This method contrasts with other classic methods circulating on social media, such as wrapping the stem to slow down ethylene emission or hanging bananas to prevent them from ripening through contact with each other. All of them work to a certain extent, but this one has the advantage of being clean and simple: all you need is a jar and a dark corner.
The interesting thing is that these kinds of household tricks — just like methods for perfuming the house with natural plants or preserving fresh herbs — show that sometimes you don’t need technology or strange ingredients, just a little better understanding of how fruit works.
