<div><p>It's amazing that we're all still willing to put up with bananas, because this tricky food is just right for only a short time before they start to rot.</p><p>There's nothing worse than craving a banana when all of yours are still green, or finding out your can't make a recipe because your bananas aren't ripe.</p><p>The problem is that bananas give off a molecule called ethylene that breaks down the sugar inside the fruit. Luckily, with a little science knowledge you can make this work in your favor and ripen green bananas in no time.</p><p>Just don't forget to say "abracadabra!"</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/Green-Bananas.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/Green-Bananas_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Running With Spoons</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p></p><p>The 2 ways to use ethylene gas to your advantage are by <strong>adding heat</strong>, which speeds up the ripening process, or by <strong>pairing up your fruit</strong>, to give them a bigger dose of ethylene. </p><p>The simplest way is to <strong>leave your bananas in a bunch</strong>. If you need them for a recipe tomorrow, but your grocery store only has green bananas, just let them be and they should ripen together.</p><p>To speed things along you could <strong>wrap them in foil</strong> or <strong>put them in a paper bag</strong>, both of which seal in the ethylene.</p><p>For some extra teamwork, <strong>mix a few apples or tomatoes in with your bananas</strong>, since these fruits also leak out the gas.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/ku-xlarge.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/ku-xlarge_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Lifehacker</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p></p><p>If you're really desperate for ripe bananas, or a recipe calls for them dark, you can even ripen yellow bananas quickly.</p><p><strong>Stick them in the oven at 300°F</strong> and they'll ripen in a snap. Just watch them closely, because there's no set time. Don't be worried when they turn black, the banana inside is still tasty.</p><p>These tips will let you enjoy your bananas whenever you like, but to keep ripe ones fresh longer <a href="https://www.shared.com/7-tips-to-master-if-your-groceries-always-go-bad/">try these instead</a>!</p><p><strong>Share this post so everyone can learn these tips!</strong></p></div>