Ripe banana

The peel is mostly yellow, often with brown speckles, and the fruit gives slightly when pressed. It should smell sweet; a green peel usually means a firmer, less sweet banana.

Keep them at room temperature if you plan to eat them soon. Once ripe, you can refrigerate them to slow further ripening; the peel may darken, but the fruit inside is usually still fine.

Yes. Peel them, slice or mash the fruit, and freeze it in a sealed container; freezing the slices in a single layer first makes them easier to portion. Use them straight from the freezer in smoothies, or thaw and drain before baking.

Toss the slices with a little lemon or lime juice, then cover them and refrigerate. The juice slows browning, though too much can make the banana taste sharply citrusy.

Mashed banana can replace an egg in many soft cakes and muffins; use about half a medium banana for each egg. It adds sweetness and moisture, so the result will taste of banana and may be denser than a cake made with egg.

Mash them into porridge as it cooks, or blend them into pancake batter and serve with yoghurt or berries. Their soft texture also makes them easy to add to a smoothie.

A ripe banana is usually sweet and soft enough to eat raw. Plantain is starchier and firmer, so it is commonly cooked—fried, boiled or baked—rather than eaten like a dessert banana.

It pairs well with yoghurt, oats, peanut butter, cinnamon and berries. For a classic banana split, serve it with scoops of ice cream and toppings such as chopped nuts or chocolate sauce.