What happens if you microwave a banana

Keep in mind that the microwave will ripen your bananas in the shortest time, but it may not produce the sweetest result.

To some point, the bananas will not develop all its natural sugars that make the fruit sweet. Additionally, the banana will be soft and they will taste somewhat raw. It is best to avoid microwaving a banana that is more green than yellow.

When microwaving bananas to ripen, make sure to use unpeeled bananas and poke holes all over with a fork or knife to get heat inside the thick peel. The microwave method is much speedier process compared to the oven method. It is quickly making the fruit soft, but does not develop its full sweetness due to the speed of the ripening.

If your bananas are ripe but still hard, you can opt to soften them using a microwave for easy smashing into a recipe. Here are best ways to ripen bananas in microwave quickly. Microwaving for such a short period only makes the texture soft. Waiting for bananas to ripen may require days when left on the counter. To speed up the ripening process, the microwave method is the quickest compared to oven or paper bag method. By using microwave, the heat converts a small amount of starch into sugar and the flesh of the fruit softens.

Use unpeeled yellowish color banana instead of green-yellow banana in this method. Start by poking hole around the peel with a toothpick or fork, and place on a microwave-safe plate or paper towel. Set the microwave to low heat setting for 30 second. Carefully touch the banana to see if it has been softened enough, and add additional 30 seconds until the banana softens.

After desired softness and ripeness of banana, allow it to cool to room temperature and use for any recipe. Consuming ripe bananas are more nutritious compared to yellow spotless banana because ripened bananas contain more vitamins and minerals that benefits overall. Use these tips and method to ripen bananas in the microwave to help prepare your favorite baking recipe in a jiffy. Sharing is caring! Have you ever wanted to make something that called for ripe bananas and all the bananas in your pantry were green?

I read years back that if you put bananas in a brown paper bag the gasses that the bananas omit will ripen them faster. We go through about pounds of bananas a week in our house, but they are either green, or eaten before they are quite ripe enough to use. After scouring the internet, and reading article after article I decided to try the microwave method.

It said to poke a few holes in a banana with the peel on and put it in the microwave. The end caught fire, and my microwave still smells like smoke. I think in the back of my mind I knew better when I did it…. I microwaved the banana on high for The second one took When I pulled the bowl out it was steaming, and sort of soupy, kind of like baby food. You could smell the difference, just like you had an over ripe banana.

The longer you let it sit, the darker it will become, and the sweeter the smell will get. I made banana muffins look for them in the near future! Step 2 : Cut it into about pieces. Step 3 : Place in a microwave safe bowl.

Step 4 : Microwave on high for 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds. Ask Question. Asked 11 years, 1 month ago. Active 1 year, 11 months ago. Viewed 54k times.

Improve this question. Rodrigo de Azevedo 5 5 silver badges 16 16 bronze badges. Aaronut - it can also ignite if it's heated too long: en. I suspect the bananas were, like many of the fruits you find in grocery stores, coated with some sort of food-grade wax.

The dry woody end of the banana would have allowed this wax to heat to its flash point and ignite, catching the stem itself. I thaw my bananas in a bowl of warm water If I need the bananas stil frozen, I use a sharp paring knife, and cut the peel off. I did this when attempting to 'bake' a potato in my new W microwave.

It would have burnt the whole potato had I not intervened. Quite something to watch. A scientist friend suggested it was related to this phenomenon bit. Related blog on the Washington Post website. Show 6 more comments. Active Oldest Votes.

Improve this answer. Boltgolt 3 3 bronze badges. The high potassium content of bananas is very useful for people who maintain certain types of gamma ray detector systems I have put part of my lunch in a counter for calibration purposes BTW--don't fret the radioactive dose: you get more from cosmic rays than from any reasonable consumption of high potassium foods. I don't feel entirely convinced by this. Yes, bananas are high in potassium, but the potassium is ionized and should not be prone to arcing like a solid metal.

If this didn't matter, you would be able to see sparking with salt as well sodium is highly reactive! How is it possible that stable potassium compounds react to the microwaves like pure metals? Doesn't there have to be some reaction breaking them down, or am I looking at this entirely the wrong way? The same chowhound thread also suggests that it may have something to do with the exact configuration of the molecules, and apparently, chopping the vegetables after steaming them is also cited as a common cause.

The whole issue just seems way more complex to me than simply "X is high in minerals. Show 13 more comments.