Cavendish banana

Put it in a loosely closed paper bag at room temperature; a ripe apple in the bag can speed things up by releasing ethylene. Check it daily, as the peel may develop brown spots before the fruit becomes very soft.

Keep unripe bananas at room temperature so they can ripen. Once they are ripe, refrigerate them to slow further softening; the peel may turn dark, but the flesh inside usually stays good.

Yes. Peel them, slice or break them into chunks, then freeze in a sealed container. Use the pieces straight from the freezer for smoothies, or defrost them for baking; thawed banana will be soft.

Mash them into banana bread, muffins or pancakes. For a loaf, bake the batter in a greased tin at 180 °C until risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, usually around 50–60 minutes.

Yes, if it is firm and undamaged, but it will be less sweet and more starchy than a ripe one. Leave it at room temperature until the peel turns yellow and the fruit yields slightly when pressed.

Cavendish bananas are usually eaten ripe and sweet, while plantains are firmer and commonly cooked, often while still green. Plantains have 138 kcal and 31.9 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, compared with 95 kcal and 20 g in a Cavendish banana.

Not as a direct swap in savoury recipes: a ripe Cavendish is much softer and sweeter, so it will not hold its shape like a plantain. For a plantain-style fried or baked side, use plantain; a firm, just-yellow banana is the closer banana option.