Ripe or not quite?
Bananas with green tips will ripen in a couple of days at room temperature, so they're good if you're buying for the week. Fully yellow ones are ready now. Brown-speckled bananas are the sweetest, perfect for banana bread and milkshakes.
There were bananas at the shop door when we photographed it in October 2026. Fruit changes with the season and deliveries.
Banana milkshake
Blend two ripe bananas with 500ml of cold milk, a spoon of sugar or honey and a pinch of cardamom. It's a quick, filling drink for opening the fast in Ramadan or for a hungry child after school.
Storing bananas
Keep them at room temperature, away from other fruit if you don't want it to ripen fast. Hanging them slows bruising. Once they're ripe, the fridge slows them down: the skin goes dark but the inside stays fine. Peel overripe bananas, slice them and freeze them for smoothies.
Ripening
How do I ripen bananas quickly?
Put them in a paper bag with an apple for a day or two.
Fruit's out front at 44 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands, Glasgow G41 3NH. Come and see.