I am sure this is a really stupid question, but…Do bananan holders (that allow the fruit to hang from a hook) actually serve a purpose (i.e. keep fruit fresher, cause quicker/slower ripening) or are they purely decorative?
I feel so stupid even asking this? :smack:
Another way of putting it: they prevent bruising. Bananas bruise easily - just handling them can cause cumulitive bruising. There are plenty of people who just will not eat a bruised banana.
That’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t do anything.
In addition to saving your bananas, the hook also saves any other fruit you have lying around. A ripening banana produced ethylene, which makes many fruits ripen (and spoil) quicker than normal.
Well, your bananas will still produce the same amount of ethylene, they’ll just do it a few inches off your counter. Actually, I’ve heard this as a justification for the hooks as well. They claim that it allows air to circulate all around your bananas, giving a more even distribution of ethylene. Personally, I’ve never noticed my bananas going overripe in any uneven fashion.
Thanks all. I used to laugh at them in stores and thought good lord, What worthless gadget will they think of next? But I have been on a banana eating kick, and a co worker said I should get a banana hanger thingy…she thought it helped the fruit ripen or something. I did not argue because I did not have any idea.
IIRC ethylene is heavier than air. Putting bananas in a traditional fruit bowl would not allow the ethylene to dissipate, ripening the bananas faster(?). Placing them on a banana hanger thingy might make them ripen slower.
I use them to hold my keys.