276674 Mon Feb 21 11:32:56 -0800 2005 30 31 Home Cooking 0 1460218 Can anyone suggest ideas and/or recipes for using overripe bananas? Thanks. Mon Feb 21 11:32:56 -0800 2005 0 charm city nosher 1 1460224 Banana bread. The riper the better. Mon Feb 21 11:57:20 -0800 2005 1460218 0 Athena 2 1460246 Dead-ripe or even slightly overripe bananas are wonderful in banana pudding. - er Link: http://enrevanche.blogspot.com Mon Feb 21 13:37:31 -0800 2005 1460224 0 enrevanche 1 1460226 Bread, muffins etc. are all best with over-ripe bananas. If you don't have time throw them in the freezer peel and all nd thaw to use later. I also use them in homemade dog biscuits. Mon Feb 21 12:08:41 -0800 2005 1460218 0 AimeeP 2 1460232 Thanks for the suggestions. I have a followup question: since bananas are so sweet, can you cut down the sugar in the bread/muffin recipe? Mon Feb 21 12:35:26 -0800 2005 1460226 0 charm city nosher 3 1460244 Use brown sugar in the banana bread and you can cut down the amount by half. Also, I haven't tried using Splenda, but I imagine it would work well. Mon Feb 21 13:35:08 -0800 2005 1460232 0 Lee 3 1460248 There are some recipes that specify for very ripe bananas -- so then you wouldn't need to guess at adjustments. Banana Bread http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108415 Banana Coffee Cake http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/11799 Mon Feb 21 13:43:45 -0800 2005 1460232 0 Adrienne 3 1460254 I just made banana bread using seriously overripe (you could squish out the flesh from the peel like toothpaste) bananas, and I cut the sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 cup. The bread turned out beautifully. If you cut the sugar down any more, the texture might suffer. Mon Feb 21 14:55:56 -0800 2005 1460232 0 Grace 1 1460235 You can wrap them individually in cling wrap, then place into a ziplock bag and freeze. They're good for making smoothies - just pop one or two (don't thaw) into the blender with other fruit and juice/yoghurt/milk and blend. Mon Feb 21 12:41:43 -0800 2005 1460218 0 ju 2 1460259 be sure to peel before freezing Mon Feb 21 15:16:11 -0800 2005 1460235 0 miss 3 1460313 I don't peel them. Leaving the peel on prevents some freezer burn. To thaw, I let them sit on the counter for about a minute (or if I'm really impatient, nuke for 10 seconds) and they peel easily. Mon Feb 21 20:14:36 -0800 2005 1460259 0 Jess 4 1460331 Just a note: better to thaw a minute on a plate or in the sink rather than just on the counter if you have grout and tile. A ripe bananas thawing after freezing leaves a dark, watery mess. I know a few that don't think of that and it's a pain to clean and really ugly if you don't But, I'd leave the skins on, too. All you need is an outer thaw to get the skin off, the banana stays a better color, and the smoothie is a little colder from the frozen banana. Mon Feb 21 22:32:19 -0800 2005 1460313 0 kc girl 1 1460236 Banana cream pies are best made with ripe bananas.... mmmm Mon Feb 21 12:44:12 -0800 2005 1460218 0 Curtis 1 1460241 When I have overripe bananas I use them in oatmeal. I cut them up and put them in with the cooking oatmeal. They melt into the oatmeal and taste fantastic with butter and sugar on top. Great comfort food. Mon Feb 21 13:13:27 -0800 2005 1460218 0 Betty Botox 1 1460245 We love Elvis sandwiches, grilled peanut butter and banana, I dont add the honey, its fine just like that. I also mash some in with my Farina, which is dinner sometimes for me Mon Feb 21 13:37:26 -0800 2005 1460218 0 ValL 1 1460258 Banana ice cream. Needs no mcahine, just a freezer. The recipe linked below is delicious. Link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/5389 Mon Feb 21 15:08:50 -0800 2005 1460218 0 kc girl 2 1460368 OHHH Thank you, thank you. I will buy bananas today and on Saturday I will be eating Banana Ice Cream Tue Feb 22 12:51:23 -0800 2005 1460258 0 ValL 3 1460370 The recipe is 10Xs better when the bananas are almost brown ripe. Good luck Saturday. Tue Feb 22 12:56:04 -0800 2005 1460368 0 kc girl 4 1461543 Thank you! I bought the bananas on last Wed, they werent ripe until yesterday (Wed) and not as mushy as I wanted. However, the ice cream had a really intense banana flavor. I would have wanted a little more creamy taste with it but it was absolutely amazing. Now I remember doing this with Hershey Syrup years and years ago. Eventually I got an ice cream maker but only used it once. So, I cant wait for Strawberries, Peaches......... Yum. I also love making Granite, maybe I will try making Banana Granite now that Im thinking about it. THANKS A MILLION KC GIRL! Thu Mar 03 12:03:06 -0800 2005 1460370 0 ValL 5 1461545 I forgot to ask, have you ever used the low-fat Sweetened Condensed Milk and Half & Half instead? I will try that next time Thu Mar 03 12:11:23 -0800 2005 1461543 0 ValL 1 1460262 the banana cake recipe in 'the cake bible' is super good. Mon Feb 21 15:18:02 -0800 2005 1460218 0 miss 2 1460353 I've tried making this recipe a couple of times and have never been very successful. I like the idea, but don't like the recipe. Smokey Tue Feb 22 10:45:24 -0800 2005 1460262 0 Smokey 3 1460362 What? Tell me what you did. Did you use room temp butter? Did you make any substitutions? Tue Feb 22 12:14:42 -0800 2005 1460353 0 miss 4 1460365 Honestly, I don't remember what I did, although i know the second time I tried the recipe I took care to do everything exactly as RLB stated. I actually posted on my experience looking for advice/feedback (got some from RLB herself, or somebody claiming to be here). Nonetheless, my bottom line was that it was not a great recipe. Smokey Tue Feb 22 12:27:27 -0800 2005 1460362 0 Smokey 5 1460397 insightful, witty and hilarious response edited. oh welllll. TRY THIS RECIPE (not you smokey). Tue Feb 22 15:54:49 -0800 2005 1460365 0 miss 1 1460334 ....seriously good. The chunky texture of the bananas mashed with a fork make all the difference. Avert your eyes from the amount of butter used! ;o) Link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_22819,00.html Mon Feb 21 23:08:34 -0800 2005 1460218 0 peg 1 1460346 NOTE: I love this recipe for using up very ripe bananas. Since I don’t like my bananas past slightly green, I put the ripe ones in the freezer peel and all. When I use them for this recipe all I do is remove, thaw them and squeeze them into the bowl. They are already pureed. CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA CAKE Unsweetened cocoa powder 1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons sifted unbleached flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/3 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee powder 3 eggs, room temperature 1 1/2 cups banana puree (about 5 large very ripe bananas) 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips Powdered sugar 1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 o F. 2. Liberally butter an 8-cup bundt pan and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder. Tap out excess. 3. Sift next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) into a small bowl. 4. Using an electric mixer, cream butter. Add brown sugar and coffee powder, beat until light and fluffy. Scrap down bowl. 5. Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat two minutes. Scrap down bowl. 6. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with banana puree, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. 7. Fold in chocolate chips. 8. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake until cake is firm to touch in the center about 70 minutes. 9. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto rack and cool completely. 10. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Tue Feb 22 06:01:45 -0800 2005 1460218 0 AGM/Cape Cod 1 1460373 Tha banana cake recipe in the Cake Bible is great. Tue Feb 22 13:00:38 -0800 2005 1460218 0 JudiAU 2 1460408 As earlier, I disagree that this is a good recipe. Here's a link to an early post in which I asked for feedback on trouble-shooting it. I'm including the link because it includes some other recs for banana cake that might work better.... Smokey Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/297060#1638137 Tue Feb 22 17:24:16 -0800 2005 1460373 0 smokey 3 1460489 I think the cake is lovely, with a delicate texture and a depth of banana flavor. It was the first cake I made out of CB, which I have owned for years. Really pleased with it. I am sorry your cakes haven't turned out well. If I recall correctly, I baked it on the longer side because when I did the toothpick test, it needed more time. I use professional pans, an old oven, and no magic strips. I will say that I use a natural sour cream. If you were using one with addititives it might have affected your cake. Wed Feb 23 13:13:47 -0800 2005 1460408 0 JudiAU 1 1460599 I just made the muffins linked below with two almost completely black bananas - they are FANTASTIC - seriously, 8 of them haven't lasted four days (and there's only two of us). The coconut and banana are a perfect match. I undercooked just slightly and used half whole wheat pasty flour (and added a touch of milk - I like moist muffins). Link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/109473 Thu Feb 24 09:01:34 -0800 2005 1460218 0 Krissywats