Do Green Bananas Have to Turn Yellow When They Ripen?

From cartoons to movies and even advertisements, ripe bananas have always been depicted as yellow. Without realizing it, we have been conditioned to think that ripe bananas should always be yellow.

It is not surprising that it sometimes gets us confused.

The ripeness of bananas and the color of their peel are sometimes mutually exclusive. Bananas can be yellow and be ripe, equally, they can also be green, and be ripe as well. Hence, green bananas don’t necessarily have to turn yellow when they ripen.

Allow us to explain why this is a possibility.

Do green bananas have to turn yellow when they ripen?

No. There are some varieties of bananas that do not go through this rite of passage. There are over 1000 species of bananas in the world, and these have hues that range from purple, red, burnt orange, yellow, brown, green, black, to pink.

A banana variety called Ebon Mosak rather turns a lighter shade of green when it ripens rather than turning yellow. So if you take a bunch of Ebon Mosak home from the store, don’t expect it to turn yellow, it will disappoint you…

What do you do with green bananas that won’t ripen?

If your green bananas have refused to ripen, you can:

Make smoothies with them.
Make a plate of green banana fries.

Make some baked green bananas.
Make and enjoy a plate of nutritious boiled green bananas.
Cook some green banana porridge.

Have yourself a plate of mashed green bananas.

Why won’t my bananas ripen on the tree?

Bananas are temperature-sensitive. Bananas flourish better in a warm climate rather than a cold climate. Also, it can take your bananas 70-100 days to fully complete the ripening process on the tree, if it hasn’t been that long, this can also actively be a factor.

Another possible cause may be rapid changes in the temperature of the environment with which it is left to grow and ripen. Finally, sometimes bananas would not ripen on the tree and would start to ripen the moment they are cut and taken inside.

Why are my bananas still green after two weeks?

This means that it may not have been properly exposed to ethylene gas before you got them (speeds up the ripening process). You should give them more time. They would eventually get ripe. The ripening process can take up to 6 weeks.

How do you ripen bananas faster?

Exposure to ethylene gas. Bananas ripen faster when they are exposed to ethylene gas.

You don’t need so much to achieve this; all you have to do is:

Get a paper bag, an apple, or already ripened bananas
Put the unripe and ripe fruits in the paper bag
Fold the top of the bag loosely

The ripe fruits cause more ethylene gas to be released and circulated the green bananas. Using this method, the bananas should be ripe in about a day or two.

Why do my green bananas never ripen?

It’s either you purchased the variety that doesn’t need to change the color of its peel to show it is ripe or you need to give it more time.

Another viable reason is that your bananas have not been exposed to ethylene gas enough to prompt the ripening process. Your bananas can take up to 6 weeks to be fully ripe.

However, you can feel it to know if it is soft, if it is, it most likely is ripe but its green peel has you in deception.

Will bananas ripen if picked green?

Yes, regardless of variety. All bananas will eventually ripen regardless of how long it takes and regardless of the species it belongs to. To know if your bananas have ripened, the color of the peels will change, or it will assume a softer feel.

How can bananas ripen at home?

You can conveniently ripen your bananas following some DIY steps.

Here are some genius ways you can do so.

You can put your unripe bananas into a paper bag with ripened bananas and loosely close the top to activate and circulate the ethylene gas from the ripened fruit. This should have your bananas ripe in 1 or 2 days.
Place your bananas in warm places like close to the heater, in an oven that’s cooling down, on top of your refrigerator. You should have your ripened bananas in about 48 hours.
Place in the oven for approximately 15-30 minutes. Your oven should be set at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Check on them between intervals during the 15-30 minutes. There’s a possibility that the bananas get a little runny with this process.

You can ripen bananas in your microwave. Place the unripe bananas in your microwave for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Make sure to poke the bananas’ sides with a knife.
Afterward, check if it has reached your preferred softness and continue this process till you reach your desired softness.