Why Banana Stems Are Sometimes Wrapped In Plastic At The Grocery Store

While you're browsing the produce section in your local grocery store, you might notice that some of the stems on bunches of bananas are wrapped with plastic. But why? Nobody eats the stems of a banana, after all, so what's the point of sealing that part of the fruit up? It all has to do with freshness. 

Bananas (as many fruits do) release ethylene gas as part of the natural ripening process, which makes fruit ripen faster ... and therefore also spoil that much more quickly. In order to contain the ethylene and help keep bananas fresh for longer, some stores will wrap the stems in plastic. It's commonly believed that the stems of the bananas are the part that releases the most ethylene, though take this to a group of food scientists and you may hear that this is debatable. However, at-home tests show that wrapping stems does appear to slow the banana ripening process by a noticeable degree.

So, if wrapping banana stems helps them last longer, why don't all stores do it? Simply put, it's because ripening is a much more complicated process than it might first seem and includes more factors at play than just how much ethylene the bananas are exposed to, including temperature. In addition, ethylene exposure is carefully controlled during distribution to make bananas ripe right just as they hit the shelves. While wrapping the stems slows spoiling, it won't stop it entirely, and it may not be worth doing for some stores.

So, if wrapping the stems of bananas helps slow down spoilage, should you be doing it at home? Ultimately, it's up to you. Bananas will still stay good for a few days to a week without this step. Even if they start to ripen to the point of becoming unappetizing, you can always turn them into banana bread, like with our three-ingredient banana bread recipe that utilizes yellow cake mix.

If you do decide to wrap your banana stems, the best thing to do is set aside some time to separate each one from the bunch and wrap the stems individually. Wrapping individual banana stems helps them last longer than wrapping the bunched fruit all together. The difference is admittedly slight, but many report that it does make a difference nonetheless.

If you really want your bananas to last, though, the best way to do that is to store them properly in the refrigerator. You might not know that bananas and a few other foods are actually best kept refrigerated, since the common practice is to leave them in a bowl on the counter. Yet, the reality is that bananas ripen quicker in warm temperatures, so it's better to leave them in a cool (but not too cold) part of the fridge.