Create a Simple Banana Hook

Create an under-cabinet hanger to keep your bananas fresher, longer

What’s not to love about bananas? They’re fresh, versatile, delicious, affordable and packed with potassium, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. And they contain zero fat, assuming you don’t only consume them with ice cream. Plus, they come individually wrapped in easy-opening packages! One downside to bananas is that if you set them on a counter or in a basket, they bruise easily and over-ripen very quickly.

Now, you can buy a freestanding banana holder, but it takes up valuable counterspace and always seems to be in the way while working in the kitchen. Rather than buying a hanger, here’s a better idea: create one yourself. Here’s how:

1. Take a wire clothes hanger and use wire-cutting pliers to clip off a 6-in. section.

2. Bend the wire into a Z shape, making sure one leg is bent up slightly to keep the bananas from sliding off.

   

   Bend a 6-in. wire into a Z shape to create the banana hook

3. Drill a 1/8-in.-dia. hole through your cabinet. Most cabinets have a recessed bottom, which means the sides extend down about one inch. This enables you to drill the hole between two of your cabinets.

4. After you’ve drilled the hole, slide in the wire and give it a try. If the bananas slip off, bend the hook up slightly.

If you don’t want to place the hook where two cabinets meet, another option is using needle nose pliers to bend a round eye in one end of the wire. Make the eye slightly larger than the mounting screw.

Alternatively, create an eye shape so you can mount the hook anywhere

Bend the other end into a hook for the bananas. Now you can install the banana hook anywhere you want to the underside of your cabinets. Just make sure to use a short screw—about 1/2 in. long—to avoid going through the bottom of the cabinet.

Banana Trivia

Did you know that the stem of the banana produces the ethylene gas that ripens the fruit? In fact, some companies manufacture ethylene gas specifically for ripening facilities. Hanging bananas promotes air circulation so the ethylene gas isn’t as effective. Conversely, if you want to speed up the ripening process, put the bananas in a paper bag to trap the ethylene gas. They should ripen in 1 or 2 days.

Bananas originate from Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, and archeologists believe that they became a domesticated fruit as far back as 8,000 B.C. They didn’t start appearing in the U.S. until the early 1800s. So, we’ve got some catching up to do!