The long, usually yellow fruit of a tree which enjoys the moist hot climate of the tropics, sometimes red or green, which grows in bunches. It has sweet dense flesh which discolours quickly. Bananas ripen better off the tree than on, so they are picked and shipped when they are green. A bunch of bananas is known as a "hand". Ripen them at room temperature. If they are already ripe, you can keep them, in the fridge. Although the skin will turn brown, the flesh will remain unblemished.
