As a banana gets old, the skin will get thinner. It will turn black and oily looking. At this point, the fruit inside will have soft bruised spots and will break apart easily. At this point, the best choice for Mr. Banana is not to throw him away, but to bake him into bread.

Banana bread is the best specialty bread I know. Even when I wasn’t in love with the banana, I was in love with banana bread. My mother told me that the best banana bread is made with overripe bananas. When the skin starts to turn black and the stem won’t hold the banana anymore, they are ready to use. Bananas in this stage are very sweet. You don’t need very much sugar for your bread mixture.

Bananas are sliced up on cold and hot cereal as well as in yogurt and on bread with some mayonnaise (a Southern thing!). They work as a dessert too. Ever had a banana split? Find new uses for those more than ripe bananas.