Recently our commercial kitchen got some bunches of bananas with a curious feature. On the inside they were firm and delicious (no jokes, please), but on the outside they looked incredibly sickly. Specifically, they had this grey/green/brownish yellow with lots of black spots, some of them with depth. I've been told that some bananas, such as those from the Canary Islands, look like this, but ours are Cavendishes*. Over a chilly weekend, neither the peels nor the inside seemed to change very much.
What sorts of things can we do to make healthy-tasting bananas look ripe at the appropriate times? We actually had to post a sign explaining the situation so that people would eat them!
*Cavendishs? Cavendish's?
Best Answer
Alright, I'll go ahead and post this as an answer.
The fact of the matter is the Cavendish/dessert bananas should not be refrigerated. They will develop a sickly green/grey tinge to their skin. This does not really affect flavor, texture, or to the best of my knowledge, nutritional value, but it makes them look like ass.
Now, to the crux of your issue: you say this is a commercial kitchen. And herein lies your problem: your produce almost certainly gets delivered in a refrigerated truck. What the delivery drivers should be doing, but almost certainly aren't, is wrapping the bananas (and tomatoes, but I digress) in a nice heavy blanket. But let's be realistic, no truck driver is going to waste time doing that. So your bananas (and tomatoes!) are showing up, pre-refrigerated by your produce purveyor. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it.
Or is there?
There is something you can do. But it won't be easy, or particularly fun, unless you're a sadistic bastard who likes yelling at people. Get yourself a laser thermometer and meet the delivery truck when it rolls up. When the door opens, temp the bananas. (Actually, you should do this with every time/temperature sensitive product you receive.) If the bananas are less than ~50° F, send 'em back. Demand a fresh case. Refuse to pay. Keep doing it until you get the bananas you want. After a few rounds, your driver will make damn sure the bananas are perfect.