Banana bread project failure

[Clipper]

Kathy was planning to make 8 or 10 banana breads to give as gifts to friends. We read on the internet that bananas can be quickly ripened by placing them in an oven set at 300 degrees for 1/2 hour or until the peels turn dark and shiny. I bought 5 lbs of bananas from the clearance rack in the produce department that were on the verge of becoming over ripe. She followed the instructions to ripen them in the oven and when we took them out after about 20 minutes they smelled terrible. They were giving off a rather acrid and smoky smell. When we peeled one, the inside fruit was indeed at the correct ripeness and softness to blend into banana bread batter, but along with a sweetness, it had that acrid smell and hint of a smoky taste in the background.

Lesson learned. In the garbage went 5 lbs of bananas. I went to Aldi's and bought her a case of canned pumpkin and she is baking pumpkin breads instead. In the meantime our house smells like a wildfire at a banana plantation. Hopefully the sweet and spicy smell of baking pumpkin bread will cover the lingering odor left by the banana bread experiment.

[kit]

I don't understand something Clip. You said you bought 5 lbs of bananas that were on the verge of becoming over ripe. If that was the case, why did she put them in the oven to ripen them?

[Clipper]

They were on the VERGE Kit, but were not ripe and soft enough yet for mixing in the batter. She wanted to make the bread immediately without waiting a day or so for the bananas to get over ripe nad soft. Check out "how to ripen bananas quickly" on Google. Scrap the suggestion that you put them in a 300 degree oven, haha.

Banana bread fail, but the PUMPKIN bread is delicious.

The bananas on the clearance rack are usually bruised and simply not top notch for the full price. I always walk by the rack to see what is available. I have bought celery bunches that were simply starting to wilt, but the stalks were still okay, tomatoes that had gotten real ripe and soft, onions that were damaged or bruised, and carrots that have began to dry out. We don't use the vegetables as a fresh side dish. I make soup with them, along with a reduced price steak from the meat department bin that is going out of date and is half price. I am vigilant in checking the stuff over before I buy it, but most all of it is good if used right away. We love home made soups, and when I can buy a couple of sirloin or rib eye steaks for $4 or so apiece rather than buying a chuck roast for 8 or 9 dollars to simply toss in a soup pot, I do.

For normal cooking of steaks, roasts and burgers I am very fussy about the quality and freshness of meat, and with my love for salads and vegetables, I am also fussy about the fresh produce I buy, but I can't resist the bargain and jump at a chance to make an inexpensive batch of soup or stew.

We often buy the reduced price bananas for banana bread but normally she lets them ripen on their own and is in no particular rush to make the bread. I also buy the apples that appear on that clearance rack and we make applesauce or cooked apples to serve along side a pork dish. The cheapskate side of me is now known, haha.

[clarencebunsen]

One suggestion. When we have bananas which have reached the bread stage of ripeness, I bag them and put them in the freezer. Last night Barb pulleg a bag of frozen bananas from the freezer and thawed them overnight. They turn to mush as they thaw but that is kind of the point.

[Clipper]

Thanks CB. That is the route we will take in the future. We use a lot of bananas and buy them 4 lbs at a time in a bundle for $1.79 at Sam's Club. With just the two of us eating them and slicing them in cereal, there is quite often a few left that begin to get over ripe before we finish them.

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