Advice pls! Frozen bananas...

Is it a good idea to freeze bananas?

I've tried this a couple of times (letting them defrost over night) only to find super mushy, brown bananas (with lots of juice oozed out) awaiting me in the morning ...

Any tips much appreciated!

Thanks people,

With love and gratitude, DJ

Tags: bananas, food, frozen, storage

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by DURIANRIDER on April 11, 2012 at 2:09pm

PEEL FIRST then freeze.

Otherwise its like trying cut your toe nails whilst your running.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DJ on April 11, 2012 at 2:27pm

Cheers Harley!

I found that the unpeeled ones were the least brown the next day ... hmmm?

Is there any way to avoid the browness/mushyness? Is overnight too long to defrost them?

Finding it challenging keeping nicely ripe bananas on hand right now!

Love, DJ

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DJ on April 11, 2012 at 2:37pm

What's the deal with peeling? :) Logic to me says that keeping the skin on whilst frozen would help reduce oxidation etc?!

I like the idea of making a smoothie ... does this store for long? Would prefer for it to be room temp. before slurping it :)

Thanks!

Love, DJ

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Allison on April 11, 2012 at 2:27pm

Thats funny DR. but I know what you are talking about, you have to blend them frozen otherwise they are goo. Banana ice cream is better than dairy. Splash of raw almond milk, cinnamon and some vanilla. Perfection.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DJ on April 11, 2012 at 2:31pm

Ohh interesting! So I could blend some up and put the smoothie in the freezer ... and then defrost the following day? How long does this stay good for?

Cheers, DJ

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by AJ on April 11, 2012 at 2:37pm

frozen it should last approximately forever... if you make the ice cream i'd leave out the almond milk and add dates for even better creaminess/more sweetness, just cuz fruit+fat= :(

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Peter on April 11, 2012 at 2:38pm

Frozen bananas become mashy very quickly (peeled or unpeeled) and should be consumed fairly soon after they are removed from the freezer.

Even if frozen with the peel the peel becomes easier to remove after about three minutes or so. When I freeze them I remove half of the peel. That way after two minutes once removed from the freezer the peel can be easily removed.

Ideally you would flash freeze peeled banana. If the temperature of a freezer is not low enough then the flesh might start to oxidize a little before it becomes completely frozen. This however shouldn't affect the taste.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by DJ on April 11, 2012 at 2:41pm

Awesome! Thanks Peter.

So, ideally I'd like to eat the defrosted bananas at room temp (so I don't get body freeze and enervate) ... is this possible before they turn to mush? If so, how long to defrost?

Cheers, DJ

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Peter on April 11, 2012 at 3:18pm

I usually consume them within ten minutes once removed from the freezer. Mostly I only eat them on warm or hot days. I like to eat them whilst they are still firm but have warmed. When I use them in smoothies I wait two to three minutes and chop them into chucks. The reason I place them in the freezer with half of skin on is that they don't stick together as much compared to banana flesh only.

When it's hot I like to make ice cream from frozen bananas or should I say 'banana cream'. If you have a powerful enough food processor or blender the 'ice cream' has a lovely creaminess. Who needs regular ice cream!