Creative Ways to Preserve Bananas
We love bananas, and in Lancaster County, we almost always have access to full banana boxes – meaning we can get about 50lbs or more of bananas as at time for about $20 or less. Most people buy bananas, they sit on the counter, and either they’ll all eaten in 2 days – or they sit there and rot. There doesn’t seem to be an in between.
So what are some ways to use bananas? How can you make sure you don’t waste the bananas once they’re brown? Learn about our 7 ways to preserve bananas!
7 Ways to Preserve Bananas
1. Freeze
How to preserve bananas in freezer:
Throw your bananas in a quart or gallon zip top plastic bag, and put them in the freezer. We put 4 bananas in a quart Ziploc because that’s about how many we would need to make one batch of bread or muffins. This is also how many we currently need to make smoothies for our family. Each big person gets 1 banana, and the two litters share (in the smoothie mix). Maybe this is obvious, but to freeze bananas, take the bananas out of the peels. Throw the peels to the pigs or chickens!
2. Freeze Dry Slices
You can check out the freeze dryer we have here: https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1479.html.
3. Make Powder
Again, if you have a freeze dryer, making powder is super easy. You could try this in your dehydrator, but you may get more a flaked banana consistency instead of a powder. Also, the dehydrator will probably take quite a while to dry out puree.
We talk about the process of powdering bananas in the YouTube video above extensively, but here’s the idea: take the bananas out of the peels, smush them onto your freeze dry trays, and freeze dry! When they are done in the freeze dryer, add the dried bananas to the Vitamix (or any blender that you like), and powder. We keep this on the counter in a mason jar and add to yogurt, smoothies, ice cream, or whatever needs a sweet addition!
Powders are one of our favorite things to make as we preserve food because they are so versatile, and they look pretty on the counter.
4. Make Orange Banana Jam
Canning bananas:
This Ball book has a recipe for Orange Banana Jam, which we talk about in the YouTube video above. This jam is delicious, but if it calls for way more sugar than you are interested in using (like us), you can use Pomona’s Pectin, or make into sauce, which leads us to our next use. Check out that Ball Book for more banana preservation recipes.
5. Make Banana Sauce
Also canning bananas:
If you follow the Ball recipe above but way cut the sugar, you’ll wind up with sauce, which we LOVE for use on pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, etc. Take heart, anytime you have jam that doesn’t setup, I promise it will taste delicious as sauce on breakfasty things!
6. Make Banana Bread/Muffins
If you freeze your bananas, you can make them into muffins or bread. There are so many recipes out there for bread and muffins, and with some homemade butter, it’s hard to beat a warm banana nut muffin!
7. Dehydrate Banana Chips
Last preservation method for bananas is dehydrating for banana chips. These are also another great snack to keep on the counter or even to keep in the car. Just slice your bananas thin, and add to your dehydrator trays. Don’t forget to condition your dehydrated food by shaking the jar they are in everyday for a week. This helps reduce or eliminate the amount of moistures pockets that might be present.
If you have other ways to preserve bananas that you love, let us know! We love learning about new ways to preserve food!
