Ripening Bananas in a Bag
Put the bananas in a paper bag. Bananas produce ethylene gas, a hormone that triggers ripening. Keep them in a paper bag to trap more of this gas near the fruit. Avoid paper bags with a clay or waxy coating, which may absorb the ethylene. A plastic bag blocks oxygen from reaching the fruit, which can sometimes lower the production of ethylene.
Add other fruits to the bag. All your bananas need to ripen is a bag, some warmth, and their own ethylene. However, you can add other fruit if you have it. Some other fruits also release ethylene, ripening nearby fruits. The best options are apples, pears, apricots, and similar pit fruits, avocados, kiwi, and quince. Other bananas will help as well, but the effect is low unless they're already ripe. Use the ripest fruit you can find, or cut the fruit to encourage more ethylene production. Even other fruits, leafy vegetables, and tubers sometimes produce ethylene if they are severely wounded. If you have no other options, cut them many times and add them to the bag.
Put the bag on top of your fridge. Heat significantly speeds up ripening in bananas. The ideal ripening temperature for flavor and texture is about 65–68ºF (18–20ºC). This is about room temperature in a heated home. Keeping it in a warmer location, such as on top of the fridge or over the stove, may speed up ripening. The result might be less evenly ripe, but this shouldn't matter much for home use.
Add humidity in dry weather. Low humidity may slow ripening or affect flavor. If the weather is dry, run a humidifier in your kitchen, or leave out shallow pans of water. However, you should keep your bananas away from damp areas, which may encourage mold. Nearby water is fine, but a very moist and enclosed area is not the right environment.
Check the bag periodically. The bananas will usually ripen within 48 hours, but it can take several days if the bananas are still green. Check once or twice a day, since the fruit stored with the banana will quickly become overripe.
Making Overripe Bananas in the Oven
Fire up your oven. Preheat it to 300ºF(150ºC). If you don't want to make your bananas completely black, set your oven to the lowest setting instead. This will normally be about 170°F (77°C).
Place the unpeeled bananas on a lined baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper to catch leaks from the mushy bananas. Place unpeeled bananas on this sheet. Don't crowd them, as you want the warm air to circulate.
Bake for 20-30 minutes. Turn the oven light on so you can keep an eye on the bananas. Watch the bananas blacken, and check on them after the first 15 minutes to see if they've softened. If they don't seem soft after 30 minutes, you might want to try them for another ten.
Remove and let cool. Once your bananas are out, you can poke them gently with a spoon to see if they're soft. Wait until they're cool enough to handle before adding them to your banana bread ingredients. If you're not ready to use them yet, you can store them in your fridge without losing any flavor.
Incorporate into your recipe. Cut off the tip of the peel with a pair of scissors, then squeeze the banana from the bottom to push out the fruit. Alternatively, you can just slice the peel down the side and topple the banana out, or scoop it with a spoon.
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