Banana Nut Muffins (1-Bowl Recipe) - Lauren's Latest (2024)

FAQs

Why do banana muffins have black lines? ›

Yep, the baking soda in a standard banana bread recipe is what reacts with the banana causing it to turn black. Using self rising flour not only alleviates the need for baking soda, but also the salt, making your ingredient list even shorter.

You Over-Mix the Batter

For soft and tender banana bread, gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry — don't overmix! The more you stir, the more gluten will develop. The result will be a tough, rubbery banana bread.

Line an airtight container with paper towels and place the muffins on top in a single layer. And don't forget to add a few saltines to absorb moisture! Place paper towels above the muffins to soak up every bit of moisture. Seal with an airtight lid.

Ripe bananas are not only softer and easier to mash and blend into a batter, but they are also sweeter, which is why baking recipes specifically call for ripe bananas in ingredient lists. As the bananas ripen, the fruit converts starches to sugars, making them sweeter and more flavorful.

If muffins are left exposed, the moisture starts to leak from them and they dry out. To store muffins up to 4 days, line an airtight container or zip-lock bag with paper towel and store the muffins in a single layer. Place another layer of paper towel on top of the muffins as well.

In almost every case, it's not you, it's your baking powder. Baking powder with aluminum in it reacts to acidic ingredients, causing this discoloration and what many people find to be a “tinny” or metallic taste.

Banana bread recipes typically ask you to use overripe bananas so that they're easier to mush. This means it's tempting to toss all your bananas into the mix when you're ready to bake, to avoid food waste. But if you add too much of the fruit into your batter, your bread could turn out mushy, heavy, and wet.

If you're planning to eat your banana bread within three to four days, it can be left out at room temperature. To keep it fresh, place a paper towel in the bottom of an airtight container.

It will make your muffins dense. Quickbreads and muffins are hydrating batters, which means the flour absorbs the liquid over time, resulting in a very moist muffin, and improving the flavor. So let your muffin batter rest, up to 24 hours if possible.

You can keep them on the wire rack overnight if you know for sure that you and your company will be able to finish them within 24 hours. They will not dry out that fast and all you have to do is cover them up with a paper towel, or a fresh and clean kitchen towel.

Do banana muffins need to be refrigerated? ›

How to store banana muffins after baking? Let the banana muffins cool completely on a wire cooling rack first. Then store banana muffins at room temperature in an airtight container between two sheets of kitchen paper for up to 4 days.

If a banana smells rotten or fermented or is leaking fluid, it's time to say goodbye. If the fruit inside, not just the peel, is black, that's a sign that your banana is too far gone to safely eat.

Answer: It is true that the sunken black/brown spots on the banana fruit are due to a mould. The condition is referred to as anthracnose. The mould that causes the spots is called Colletotrichum musae. It is a post-harvest problem of banana fruits all over the world.

This natural transformation is known as enzymatic browning. Contrary to popular belief, the appearance of black spots on bananas is not an indicator of spoilage. It signifies elevated levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF), a substance renowned for its cancer-fighting properties.

Biologically, the stringy part of a banana is called the "phloem bundles," which is responsible for transporting water, minerals, and nutrients to bananas. When bananas are immature, phloem bundles cling to the pulp. However, once the banana is ripe, phloem bundles are separated from the pulp.

So essentially, these hideous strings distribute nutrients up and down the banana as it grows, allowing us to eat the delicious bananas that we so love. Some people hate phloem bundles so much that they've dedicated blogs to the subject.

Senescence is the natural development stage that follows the eat-ripe stage. Senescent spots (sugar spots) appear on the skin surface during the last stage of ripening. Eventually, the banana peel turns brown. The pulp loses its firm texture and becomes brown and possibly gelatinous.