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How Long Does Banana Bread Last? Can It Go Bad?

Banana bread is one of the many dishes that is a favorite in several households. You can whip them up quickly in the kitchen with a few ingredients or save yourself the stress by getting one from the store. However, it’s important to know the shelf life of your banana bread to avoid consuming harmful food. This leads us to an important question, how long does banana bread last? You wouldn’t want to spend all that time or money on your banana bread, only to find it moldy because you didn’t store it the right way. We will tell you all about this, including how to store your banana bread and know if it has gone bad. This will guide your decision as you store your banana bread for future consumption.

Here’s a list of our banana bread recipes:

  •  Browned Butter & Espresso Banana Bread
  •  Best Banana Bread!
  •  Gluten Free (and not full of weird flours) Banana Bread (or muffins)
  •  Moving + Healthy-ish Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Can Banana bread Go Bad?

 

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When you keep banana bread in a container or bag that is not airtight, it will go bad. Therefore, this means that improper storage or leaving it out for a long time will make your banana bread go stale or dry out quickly. For store-bought banana bread, check the ingredients on the packaging to determine if it’s okay to chill in a fridge or not. However, to be on the safer side, it’s best to refrigerate your banana bread to retain its moistness. 

 

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How to Store Banana bread

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There are three ways to store banana bread. You can store it at room temperature right on your counter. Place them in a plastic storage container while keeping it secured with a locking lid. The banana bread needs some space to breathe, or it would eventually become soggy like it does when placed in a plastic wrap. Putting a napkin or paper towel in the container will help absorb excess moisture, keeping it fresh for a longer time. On the counter, the banana bread will stay moist and soft while retaining its taste like when it was freshly baked. However, you can only store this for four days before it starts to form mold as a result of being very moist. To ensure that the air temperature and moisture around the food are at its best, move the banana bread to a fridge. 

 

Alternatively, you can store banana bread in the fridge to extend its shelf life. However, this should be done right using a plastic wrap. Wrap the banana bread securely in this to stop moisture from being absorbed into the loaf. Wrapping it this way keeps the bread from drying out quickly, especially as refrigerators serve as a drying environment. An adequately covered banana bread can stay fit for consumption for more than a week. Microwave your banana bread for a few seconds when you’re ready to eat. It will be as warm and soft as it was on the first day it came out of the oven. 

 

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It is also a good idea to store your banana bread in a freezer. It follows the same procedure as placing it in a refrigerator. When appropriately stored using a plastic wrap, the banana bread can last for as long as three months. Leave it to thaw overnight on the counter when you’re ready to enjoy the bread. However, if you would prefer to eat it immediately, place it in the oven where it will thaw in less than 20 minutes. Speed up the process by heating individual pieces after slicing the frozen bread. 

 

Can You Refrigerate or Freeze Banana bread?

As stated earlier, you can refrigerate or freeze banana bread. It doesn’t take so much time and can be done with the tools you have at home already. You can freeze in slices or wrap each half separately with aluminum foil. However, before storing it in a refrigerator or freezer, it is important to seal it with as little air as possible. Depending on the recipe, frozen banana bread will maintain its optimum quality for several weeks. You can defrost the bread by leaving a few slices on the counter for less than an hour. This will be ready to eat immediately. You can also place them under a grill, on a frying pan, or in a toaster. These warm up the banana bread as fast as possible. It eliminates the need to thaw the bread in advance as it takes only a few minutes. 

 

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How Long Does Banana bread Last?

 

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Usually, store-bought banana bread has a best-by date, which is about 3 days after purchase. Since it is an estimate of how long you can keep your banana bread before it loses quality, you can only store it for as long as three days. The rules for homemade banana bread are a little different. The ingredients will determine how long they can stay fit for consumption. However, if you need a longer time to finish the loaf, the best thing to do is refrigerate it for about a week. Homemade banana bread lasts for about 2 days when kept in the pantry and seven days when stored in the fridge. 

 

How Can You Tell If Banana bread Has Gone Bad?

 

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One of the obvious signs that can help you tell if your banana bread has gone bad is mold. Mold thrives in a moist environment, and banana bread offers a good breeding ground for this. Therefore, it is inevitable that the banana bread will grow mold when kept out for too long. Slice the bread to check the insides for mold and inspect its outer surface also. Another feature to look out for is discolorations. Bad banana bread will eventually lose its natural color and grow dark spots instead. When you notice this, then it’s time for the banana bread to be thrown out. Finally, you can tell if your banana bread has gone bad by smelling it. It gives off a sour smell that is anything but normal. If your banana bread is incredibly moist, you need to be stricter with storage time as it increases the chances of the bread going bad. So, it’s best to let it go if your extremely moist bread is a day past its best-by date.

 

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Is It Okay to Use Expired Banana bread?

Store-bought banana bread usually has a best-by date of three to five days. However, if there is no mold growth or other signs of a bad bread after five days, it’s okay to consume them. It’s easy to tell when it’s time to throw it out with green spots on the bread. When this happens, you have to discard everything, instead of just the moldy area. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so it’s not advisable to use expired banana bread.

 

Related Questions

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What Can You Do with leftover Banana bread?

Your leftover banana bread can still be useful in the kitchen. You can spread butter and drizzle it with honey, just to add some spice to your meal. When it’s close to its expiry date, prepare a mixture of eggs and milk. Then soak in the banana bread and fry it. This method will convert your leftover banana bread to French toast. 

 

Can you use unripe bananas for banana bread?

 

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Mashing green bananas are not fun. Unripe bananas are not the softest of the bunch. To make banana bread, you need to mash the bananas until they are soft. Therefore, you can’t use unripe bananas for your recipe as ripe ones give the bread more flavor, sweetness, and moisture. They will also give more trouble than they are worth as ripe bananas are too hard to break down. You should opt for an overripe banana. In this case, solid black bananas are even the best. Spotted ones also do the trick. 

 

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How can you get your bananas ripe enough?

If you’re ready to bake your banana bread, but your bananas are not ripe enough, what can you do? The most common solution is to put them in the oven. Line a cake pan with foil and place the bananas on them. Roast them at a temperature as high as 300 degrees until they turn brown. When you can’t wait for mother nature to take its course, you can use this method to force the starches to develop and ripen the banana faster. Another option is the paper bag method, which is not as fast as roasting in an oven. However, if you have a day to ripen your bananas, place them in a paper bag, and search for a warm spot. Leave It here throughout the night. During this process, the bananas will produce ethylene gas, which will ripen them.

 

With these tips, you can keep your banana bread at its best quality and safe for consumption for a long time. If you would rather opt for homemade banana bread, remember to mix the ingredients in the right order and mash your bananas as much as possible. With this, you will have the perfect banana bread to store and savor every bite. 

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