Your bananas can stay fresh for 26 days with one glass jar: will you try the fridge test today?

Shoppers tired of waste now swear by an easy storage tweak that uses a single household item. A sealed glass jar, teamed with cool temperatures, appears to slow ripening dramatically and keep skins bright for weeks. The method, shared on social video by home cook Amy Cross, has raised eyebrows because it challenges what many people believe about refrigerating bananas.

The viral jar trick

Content creator Amy Cross, known as @amycrosslegacy, filmed herself cutting unpeeled bananas into chunky pieces, dropping them into a clean glass jar, and placing the closed jar in the fridge. She expected the fruit to last 12 hours. She claims it lasted 26 days.

One glass jar, a fridge shelf, and unpeeled banana pieces: the video shows yellow skins after 26 days.

Her clip, which gathered more than 100 likes, shows the peel still vivid and the fruit firm. She bought the bananas on 13 March, sliced them into thirds with the peel left on, then sealed them inside a jar. The result surprised even her followers, many of whom avoid the fridge because banana skins often blacken under cold stress.

What you need

• One clean, dry glass jar with a tight-fitting lid
• Ripe but not overripe bananas (skins mostly yellow with few specks)
• A fridge space away from strong odours

How to do it

• Rinse and dry the jar to remove moisture and smells.
• Cut the bananas into large sections, keeping the peel intact around each piece.
• Place the pieces upright in the jar to minimise bruising.
• Seal the lid and refrigerate on a stable, middle shelf.
• Open briefly when needed, then reseal to limit airflow.

Why a jar in the fridge might work

Bananas ripen fast because they release ethylene gas, which accelerates softening and browning. Warm rooms multiply that effect. The jar limits airflow and traps moisture, which slows dehydration. The fridge reduces respiration and ethylene production. Keeping the peel intact shields the flesh from oxygen, so the cut you make never exposes the pulp.

The peel is the barrier. Keep it on, cut into chunks, and reduce air and warmth; the clock slows down.

Researchers advise storing bananas near 12°C to avoid chilling damage that can turn skins brown while leaving the flesh edible. A domestic fridge sits closer to 4°C. That difference often causes dark spots. The sealed-jar approach appears to reduce that visible damage, at least in Cross’s demonstration, possibly by stabilising humidity and cutting airflow over the peel.

When fridge storage makes sense

• When you need to hold ripe bananas for longer than a few days.
• When your kitchen runs warm and sunny.
• When you plan smoothies, bakes or packed lunches over the next fortnight.

How this compares with other tricks

Many households wrap the stems with cling film or foil to limit ethylene release. Others hang bananas away from direct sunlight or split the bunch to slow chain ripening. These still work for room-temperature storage. If you prefer not to cut the fruit, keep whole bananas in a cool, shaded spot and aim for a temperature around 12°C. Avoid the top of a warm kitchen.

Tips for peeled bananas

Once you expose the flesh, enzymes meet oxygen and the fruit browns rapidly. A light mist of lemon or pineapple juice acidifies the surface and slows that reaction. Seal the pieces in an airtight container and refrigerate. Use for fruit salads, porridge toppings, and lunch boxes within a day.

What can still go wrong

• Starting too ripe: heavily speckled fruit collapses faster in any setup.
• Condensation: a wet jar encourages off smells and texture changes.
• Overcrowding: bruised pieces darken, even inside a jar.
• Ethylene neighbours: apples and avocados speed banana ageing if stored together.

Choose bananas with minimal bruising, keep them dry, and separate them from high-ethylene fruit.

What experts say about cold storage

Bananas are tropical and dislike cold. That’s why skins often brown in the fridge. But flesh quality can remain good, particularly when the fruit is already near the eating stage. The jar method adds a barrier that seems to protect the peel’s appearance and moisture. Results will vary by variety, ripeness and fridge settings.

Try a small test before committing the whole bunch. Place two pieces in a sealed jar, two in an open bowl in the fridge, and two on a cool counter. Check texture and colour every three days. You will see which outcome you prefer in your own kitchen conditions.

Money and waste: what you stand to gain

Households throw away bananas more than any other fruit by volume. Extending life from five days to two or three weeks reduces bin waste and repeat buying. A single reusable jar costs little and lasts for years. That swap cuts cling film use and packaging waste as well.

Storage settings that help

• Fridge temperature: 3–5°C keeps respiration down without freezing the peel.
• Humidity: a closed jar maintains moisture and limits shrivelling.
• Light: store away from bright fridge lights to reduce spotty skins.
• Shelf choice: a stable middle shelf avoids temperature swings from the door.

Extra ideas worth trying

For bakes, freeze peeled bananas at peak ripeness. Bag them in portions for banana bread or smoothies. For quick breakfasts, slice bananas, spritz lightly with lemon, and refrigerate overnight in a lidded tub next to your yoghurt pot. For lunch boxes, keep whole bananas in a cool bag with a small ice block to slow mid-day browning.

If you buy weekly, stagger the ripeness: pick a mix of greener and ready-to-eat fruit. Keep the greener ones at room temperature away from ripe bananas, and shift them into the jar-and-fridge setup as they turn yellow. That rhythm delivers fresh fruit across the fortnight without a glut on day three and none by day six.