By now you probably know that the key to keeping a lot of fruits and veggies fresh is keeping them away from each other. Bananas, like other produce, release a gas called ethylene which causes other fruits to ripen prematurely. So, using that logic, bananas would ripen less quickly if they were kept separate from one another, right?

A cool frugal trick that Lifehacker has tried before is wrapping the stems of a banana bunch in plastic cling wrap. So Instructables user wilguneast suggests separating the bananas and wrapping the stems individually (and as tightly as possible) to make them last even longer.

Sure, wrapping the whole stem section works, but why keep the bananas together? Since most bananas on a bunch ripen at slightly different rates, your prematurely ripe bananas are going to put off more ethylene gas which will only serve to make ALL the bananas ripen that much faster.

Divide and conquer! Separate the ripe fruit from the slightly-less-ripe, wrap their stems in plastic, then enjoy when you’re ready.

Read up on the science behind this trick and pick up more helpful tips over at Instructables.

Thanks to Lifehacker for the heads up!