Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Works for Me Wednesday: Banana Bread Shortcut

This is kind of a silly Works for Me Wednesday tip because it's so simple, but for me, it has turned banana bread from a chore to a quick and easy pleasure.

When it comes to getting mashed bananas, I used to mash mine in a bowl with a fork. It took forever to get even the ripest bananas to a consistency that was good enough for a decent loaf of banana bread.

Then one day it dawned on me - I tried gently massaging each banana while it was still contained in its spotty brown skin, and once I opened the banana, 90% of the mashing was already done, and to a much smoother consistency, with so much less effort. I could just squeeze out the nicely-mashed banana like toothpaste from a tube.

Now I look forward to bananas browning on my counter so I can painlessly bust out loaf or two of banana bread. :)

Mashing the banana bread bananas "in skin" works for me! What are your banana bread tips?
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6 comments:

heyruthie said...

a friend of mine from another country showed me how, where she comes from, that's how mothers feed their babies bananas! after "mashing" it inside the skin, they cut off a tiny tip of the banana with scissors! then, just squirt! it's a total "convenience food! you just squirt small smounts right into baby's mouth--no spoon required! so easy. (it's like "nature's Gogurt!")

Leslie said...

great idea! I bet my kids would have fun doing that, too!

Trisha said...

I use the bottom of a plastic cup. Just put the banana in a bowl or plate and mash away. It takes little time and little effort, although I'm thinking your tip will work even better.

You can also freeze bananas if you're not ready to use them right away. If you freeze them in skin, after they defrost there is almost no mashing necessary.

Kendra aka The Meanest Momma said...

when i make my banana bread recipe, i use my stand mixer and just throw my bananas in first and let it mix them up. A potato masher would also work well...

Annikke said...

Sheer brilliance! Why haven't I thought of this before?

Susan Ardoin said...

That's just BRILLIANT! I have bananas ripening on my counter right now and I will give it a try this week.
Thanks!