Use by dates for bananas?!

gel91
gel91 Posts: 309
edited October 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi! Brought some bananas last saturday for my little one. He loves them - As far as I remeber, I don't! But I wanna try one now so he still has 2 in cuboard but I'm not sure if nearly a week is enough for them to go bad?

They are usually eaten with 3 days or so. I hate how they don't put eat by/use by dates on bags of fruit :(

Someone once told me a banana isn't good to eat if it's squishy, mine ain't squishy! But is there any other signs a banana could be bad?

Replies

  • bettyboop573
    bettyboop573 Posts: 610 Member
    i knew people that used to eat bananas right up until thy were black! probably just personal preference.....me i like them to be a bit green...i dont think a week is time to make them go so bad you couldnt eat it
  • meli_medina
    meli_medina Posts: 594 Member
    How brown is the peel? It is normal for a ripe banana to have some brown spots, but a bad banana will be mostly brown. How soft is it? If it's squishy, it is for sure not good. How pungent is the banana odor? If you open the cupboard and you are assaulted by BANANA then it might be at prime ripe and need to be eaten within a day. After that, it will start to smell like ROTTEN BANANA which is no good. If you peel it and the banana itself is brown, it is often a sign that it was badly bruised or has a bad spot. You should be able to cut off the brown (not because it's inedible, per say, but it tends to make me gag if my banana is too soft) and eat the rest.
  • jamhamster
    jamhamster Posts: 98 Member
    I'd agree it's more down to personal choice of how you like to eat your banana's, the ripper they are the sweeter they are, but they should still be fine after a week, unless they have mould on them they should be fine
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
    Eating a banana soft isnt gonna hurt you at all..I ussually use them in banana bread if they get to bad. You use black bananas in bread. Anyways the whole thing is what you lose as the banana ripens is its satiety rate. What keeps you or makes you feel full. It decreases in half as the banana gets softer.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    You can tell by looking and smelling a banana whether it's bad.

    The overripe ones aren't always great for eating -- too mushy -- but they make great banana bread. Regardless, you aren't going to get sick from it, like with spoiled meat or eggs.
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
    I learned after living with roommates again the last year that if you forget completely about a banana and let it ripen all the way it doesnt get moldy or maybe it does after the water stage. There was a couple times I would be cleaning and found a banana burried that had a puddle of very sweet smelling sugary substance all the way around it. Almost like the melt. haha!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I learned after living with roommates again the last year that if you forget completely about a banana and let it ripen all the way it doesnt get moldy or maybe it does after the water stage. There was a couple times I would be cleaning and found a banana burried that had a puddle of very sweet smelling sugary substance all the way around it. Almost like the melt. haha!

    I've seen mold on the tips of the stems (which shouldn't affect edibility since you don't eat that part) but not on the banana itself or the bulk part of the peel.
  • gel91
    gel91 Posts: 309
    Thanks it's got some brown dots on the peel but it is mainly yellow and the spots are just at the back (don't know if that changes anything?)

    And I don't have a sense of smell, well it is very very limited barely there - so I don't know about the smell!

    It's not that squishy so I think I'll risk it. If it's bad - will it taste weird?
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
    Thanks it's got some brown dots on the peel but it is mainly yellow and the spots are just at the back (don't know if that changes anything?)

    And I don't have a sense of smell, well it is very very limited barely there - so I don't know about the smell!

    It's not that squishy so I think I'll risk it. If it's bad - will it taste weird?

    OH YEA!!! If you are still mostly yellow that is prime to most. I prefer mine quite a bit green.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Thanks it's got some brown dots on the peel but it is mainly yellow and the spots are just at the back (don't know if that changes anything?)

    And I don't have a sense of smell, well it is very very limited barely there - so I don't know about the smell!

    It's not that squishy so I think I'll risk it. If it's bad - will it taste weird?
    If it's still solid, it's fine. As someone said, the riper it is, the sweeter it is, but it still tastes like a banana.
  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member
    At first, I had read "Uses of a banana for a date" and I was "Huh?" :D
  • gel91
    gel91 Posts: 309
    Just opened it and it's a lovely white/yellow shade with no bruises so i'm taking it's good to eat?

    Hope I like it! :)
  • gel91
    gel91 Posts: 309
    At first, I had read "Uses of a banana for a date" and I was "Huh?" :D

    That could of attracted some dodgy replies! lol!
  • starwhisperer
    starwhisperer Posts: 367
    At first, I had read "Uses of a banana for a date" and I was "Huh?" :D

    Yes!!
  • corieueber
    corieueber Posts: 72 Member
    even if it had a bruise on it that is usually from a bump and can be cut out without affecting the taste at all - side note l had a child in daycare where l worked long time ago and he wouldn't eat the bruise on banana cause he was convinced he would get a bruise from it?

    Enjoy and my kids love bananas and we eat them right up until they have quite a bit of brown on the skin l use the feel more so than the colour - if they feel a bit squichy l either make a banana bread/cake or throw them in the freezer - just as they are in their skin and great for banana bread at a later date - will be very squichy when defrosted for cooking
  • NotGoddess
    NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
    In our house bananas rarely last long enough to get brown but if they do they just go into banana bread. You want brown squishy ones for that.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    At first, I had read "Uses of a banana for a date" and I was "Huh?" :D

    Now THAT would make for an interesting thread ...
  • gel91
    gel91 Posts: 309
    It was okay actually! I think I may have enjoyed it but I was so hungry I think I would of enjoyed anything put in front of me!


    Will test again tomorrow, thanks all for the replys!
  • Kate6868
    Kate6868 Posts: 159 Member
    I don't like bruises, but I won't touch a banana until the peel is covered in brown spots. It is not sweet enough for me before them. I draw the line when they get really squishy. I used to have a friend, though, who ate them ever day and they had to be nearly liquid (ick).
  • cmDaffy
    cmDaffy Posts: 6,991 Member
    I like "sugar spots" on my bananas, but even when they're too ripe for me to eat, I slice them, freeze them and use them in smoothies. Bananas don't last long enough around here to go "black"
This discussion has been closed.

Categories