Bananas are a delicious snack, but they're infamous for turning brown too quickly. This could be because you're storing them incorrectly. According to research from environmental waste reduction organisation Wrap, UK households bin 1.4 million bananas daily, costing us a whopping £80 million annually. These stats, released by supermarket giant Sainsbury's, reveal that 30 per cent of Brits chuck out bananas if they spot a bruise or black mark on the yellow skin. If your bananas are ripening too fast, it might be because you're keeping them in a fruit bowl - one of the worst places for maintaining their freshness.

Like many fruits, bananas emit a growth hormone called ethylene gas, which accelerates rotting when ethylene-producing foods are stored together. Food expert Emma Mason explained: "Even once they've been picked, bananas continue to produce ethylene gas from the stems, and that is what ripens the rest of the fruit. ". On her website Kitchen Mason, Emma advises storing bananas away from other fruits in a cool place, but never in the fridge. She warns: "Don't put them in the fridge! They're not used to cold climates (as they grow in hot countries) so chilling them stops the production of ethylene gas. Meaning, they won't ripen and worse – the skin will go black. Not very appetising!".

Storing bananas can be a bit of a puzzle, but worry not, for there's a nifty kitchen trick to keep your bananas peely good for longer. The key is to keep them somewhere that's cool – not too chilly or toasty – and make sure they're not close to other fruit or vegetables, reports the Express. Here’s a top tip: wrapping up their stems with cling film can prevent ethylene gas from escaping, potentially extending the bananas' life by a whopping 10 days or more. Emma chimed in with her advice: "To keep bananas fresh for longer, wrap the stems in cling film to stop the ethylene gas from getting to the rest of the fruit and ripening it too quickly.".

She went even further, suggesting: "To make them last the longest – split the bunch into single bananas and wrap each stem individually." Through her own kitchen experiment, Emma showed that wrapped bananas stay yellow and alluring even after 10 days, while their unwrapped comrades were turning spotty and black. Emma added: "The conclusion of this experiment is, if you wrap the stems of your bananas, they will last much longer and you're far less likely to throw them away." Not only is this hack kinder to your wallet, but it's also a small win for our dear old planet.