There’s nothing worse than unpeeling a banana only to find that half of it is bruised and you have to throw it out. Bananas bruise easily and become rotten fast, so frozen bananas are a great alternative and taste delicious.
We’ve put together this article that tells you all you need to know about frozen bananas including:
– The taste of frozen bananas
– How long they keep for
– Where you can buy them
– What you can make with them
Do frozen bananas taste sweeter?
You may have eaten a frozen banana before and thought that it tasted sweeter. Well, there’s actually a scientific reason for why that occurs. Bananas ripen and taste sweet when savoury or flavourless starches are converted into sugar with the help of amylase.
Amylase is an enzyme. There are many enzymes present in fruit that perform different tasks when activated, such as discolouration or flavour change as fresh fruit deteriorates.
Amylase is found in the saliva of humans and helps us digest food. When food is chewed a phenomenon occurs where food that contains a lot of starch but little sugar, start to taste sweeter as the amylase breaks down the starch into sugar.
So when a frozen banana is thawed, the amylase and starches in the cells diffuse through the defrosting fruit. This leads to further conversion of some starches to sugar, which contributes to the sweeter taste of frozen bananas.
These are the two ways why fruit taste sweeter:
- it has a high sugar content to start with
- your tastebuds can access the sugar present in that fruit more rapidly
When a frozen banana starts to thaw, both of these factors happen.
How long do frozen bananas last for?
Frozen bananas usually last between 2-3 months but can be kept longer if frozen correctly. If you aren’t sure if your frozen bananas are still fine to be eaten, check their consistency. Soft or mushy bananas means they’re probably not good to consume.
Where can I buy frozen bananas?
You can find frozen bananas in the frozen aisle of your supermarket. If you’re looking for wholesale frozen bananas, you can purchase it online through wholesale fruit companies, such as MorningCo.
Alternatively, you can freeze bananas yourself that you can throw into your blender for breakfast smoothies.
How to freeze bananas at home
- Peel the banana
- Thinly slice the banana
- Lay a baking sheet out and place banana on it to semi-freeze (anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour)
- Transfer the banana to freezer-lock bags
- Place in freezer and take out when using
What can I make with frozen bananas?
Frozen bananas are great for smoothies, desserts and açai bowls. Check out our recipe ideas below:
Frozen banana açai bowl
Açai bowls are excellent for breakfast and the best part is, you can add as many or as few ingredients that you’d like to it. At Purple Foods we like an açai bowl with a good base and a colourful array of toppings. Frozen bananas, mango, berries and coconut flakes are just a few toppings that you can add to your açai bowl. For more ideas, check out our açai bowl blog.
Frozen banana smoothie
When it comes to smoothie ingredients, it really depends on personal preference. Here are a few variations below:
Honey-banana smoothie
– A handful of frozen banana slices
– 1 cup of milk
– 1 tablespoon of honey
– 5-8 ice cubes
Berry-banana smoothie
– A handful of frozen banana slices
– 1 cup plain yoghurt
– ¼ cup of orange juice
– ½ cup of frozen blueberries
– 4 large strawberries
– 5-8 ice cubes
Other great banana smoothie ideas include using peanut butter for a nutty variation! For more banana recipes, check out our banana recipe blog.