# Bananas, To Can Or Not To Can ?



## Rain-Dancer (Jun 17, 2013)

I've recently run across a large amount ( about 15 lbs worth ) of slightly damaged and discounted bananas. I love baking with this fruit but how can I preserve it to where it is still palatable?? Frozen doesn't seem to work for me, so my question is : Has anyone ever successfully canned palatable bananas?


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

The only canned product I know of made with bananas is a jam called Monkey Butter.

http://www.food.com/recipe/monkey-butter-monkey-jam-505180


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## gibbsgirl (May 1, 2013)

If canning goes well, I'd love to read the recipe. Never thought of canning bananas before.

Maybe you could dry or dehydrate them? We use dried fruit in oatmeal. It plumps up nicely and we eat it a lot in winter.

Banana and zucchini breads have frozen and defrosted nicely for us. Maybe you could make a few loaves and freeze them in the bread?


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## Rain-Dancer (Jun 17, 2013)

MO_cows said:


> The only canned product I know of made with bananas is a jam called Monkey Butter.
> 
> http://www.food.com/recipe/monkey-butter-monkey-jam-505180



My coworkers and I are drooling over this recipe! Thanks!!


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## Rain-Dancer (Jun 17, 2013)

gibbsgirl said:


> If canning goes well, I'd love to read the recipe. Never thought of canning bananas before.
> 
> Maybe you could dry or dehydrate them? We use dried fruit in oatmeal. It plumps up nicely and we eat it a lot in winter.
> 
> Banana and zucchini breads have frozen and defrosted nicely for us. Maybe you could make a few loaves and freeze them in the bread?


I NEVER thought of dehydrating! Hrm, I wonder what their soak time would be ? Definitely gonna give that a go 

AND I'm a wee bit leery of freezers. When the power goes out down my way , it stays out for a hot minute. :C


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Rain-Dancer said:


> I NEVER thought of dehydrating! Hrm, I wonder what their soak time would be ? Definitely gonna give that a go
> 
> AND I'm a wee bit leery of freezers. When the power goes out down my way , it stays out for a hot minute. :C


Do you like black bananas? They taste the same.

Mon


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## gibbsgirl (May 1, 2013)

Rain-dancer,

Well if you do decide to freeze some breads, at least if your freezers go out, they wouldn't spoil like uncooked meats.:happy:


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## Janis R (Jun 27, 2013)

You can dehydrate like fruit leather and then re-hydrate and use in breads and such.
I take bananas, peanut butter and a little honey and popsicles.
Monkey butter is very good but a little sweet in my opinion
You can take pureed bananas and peanut butter but before drying you can put dots or stripes of a pureed fruit and then make a fruit leather, PB&J leather yummy


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Me and DGD froze some bananas, rolled them in melted chocolate chips and then chopped peanuts. It used up a couple of bananas that weren't gettin' any younger and made a yummy dessert, and might I add, elevated grandma to rock star status that day. But I was thinking, if you sliced the bananas into "coins", froze them, then did the chocolate dip, let it set up a minute and then back in the freezer, you'd have a pretty nifty and more or less healthy dessert at your fingertips.


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## Goats Galore (Aug 28, 2012)

I, too, freeze bananas. Just cut into pieces, freeze on a cookie sheet, then put in plastic bags. Have kept them for quite some time. WARNING : Husbands and Grandkids raid the frozen bananas and dip in peanut butter or chocolate.


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## agwagenecht (Jul 10, 2015)

if they aren't too damaged you can slice them thin, dip in lemon juice or fruit fresh and dehydrate them @ 135 for about 20 hrs. They last a long time (weeks in a storage bag). Even longer frozen or vacuum sealed. My kids eat them like candy but you can also bake with them chopped, rehydrated, etc. Good Luck.


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## sugarspinner (May 12, 2002)

Dehydrate them and then either rehydrate and use or just eat as snack chips. I like to freeze them, then put them in the blender with milk, maybe some ice cream and a bit of sugar or honey. Yummy milk shakes. There are bananas in the canned tropical fruits by Dole (I think), so canning must be possible but I've never tried it.


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## MichiganMike (Mar 27, 2015)

sugarspinner said:


> I think they are plantain. Or something . I've read the ingredients along time ago... I think they are in the same family. I also thought they were bananas. I don't think you can, can bananas. I looked into it. I think if they were turned into a mush, then thinned down with a liquid it might can :nanner::banana: smoothy ...MTP


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## Pepsiboy (Dec 2, 2014)

Rain-Dancer said:


> I NEVER thought of dehydrating! Hrm, I wonder what their soak time would be ? Definitely gonna give that a go
> 
> AND I'm a wee bit leery of freezers. When the power goes out down my way , it stays out for a hot minute. :C


 Rain Dancer,

Dehydrating works WONDERFUL ! ! ! My wife used to dry them for me as a snack when I drove truck over the road. They are perfect for long term storage.

By the way, there is no "SOAK TIME" for them. Slice them just under 1/4 inch thick, place on the dryer rack, turn on and dry for about 24 hours @ 140 degrees. Our dryer is the square one with 4 trays, has a heater and a fan built in. Set thermostat at 140 and let it go.

Dave


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