Bananas often turn brown and get soft after only a few days. This makes many bananas end up as waste in homes.

Bananas release a natural gas called ethylene as they ripen. Ethylene makes the fruit ripen faster, especially when the bananas are near other ethylene‑producing fruits such as apples or pears.

American food‑preservation specialist Amy Cross suggests a simple trick. She says to cut a banana in half, leave the peel on, place the halves in an airtight glass jar with a metal lid, and keep the jar in the refrigerator.

In a test, two bananas were left on the kitchen counter and one was stored in the jar in the fridge. After 16 days, the bananas on the counter were black and mushy, while the jar banana was still mostly yellow and looked much better.

The sealed jar limits the banana’s exposure to ethylene from other produce and also protects the peel from the dry fridge air. The peel works as a natural barrier against oxygen, so the fruit inside does not soften quickly.

Amy Cross notes that the method works best when the banana has just reached an even yellow colour.