It may seem like a common thing to put cloves in a fruit bowl, but it’s actually one of the worst places to store them.
Most people don’t realize that most fruits produce a substance called ethylene gas, which is a naturally occurring hormone that causes the fruit to ripen, making the fruit more flavorful.
When fruits are piled on top of each other, they release a lot of ethylene gas into the air, causing all the surrounding fruits to spoil quickly and rot within days.
Bananas already have a short life span and are not only very sensitive to ethylene gas but also emit large amounts from their stems, so it is best to keep bananas as far away from other fruits as possible.
Experts at Zest Food Service point out that you can store bananas with tart fruits like oranges and lemons because they don’t suffer from gas. However, fruits that have a protective coating should not be placed with bananas.
Cloves should also be kept away from avocados, honeydew (a type of melon), mangoes, peaches and potatoes.
Instead, if you want bananas to stay fresh, it’s best to keep them in a separate bowl from your fruit bowl and cover the banana stems to reduce gas build-up.
