If You Despise Aldi's Bananas, You're Not Alone

Bananas are, for the most part, a pretty reliable fruit. A good rule of thumb is to buy them when they're still a bit green, leave them on the counter, and within a few days they'll be good, golden, and ready to munch. Shopping for bananas at Aldi, however, is a whole other experience.

In fact, there are actually multiple Reddit threads entirely devoted to hating on Aldi's bananas. As one Redditor perfectly summed up, they're "somehow both unripe and rotting at the same time." And honestly? I get it. As a regular Aldi shopper myself, these conversations have me realizing that when I buy bananas from there, they often end up in what feels like a bit of an existential crisis — going from green and unready to mushy and brown over night. It's such an issue that another Reddit user has even declared "We stopped buying bananas at Aldi [entirely] because we experienced this." Whatever the reason for it, which we may never know for certain, it's like the bananas are always missing that key moment when they're actually ready to eat — going from rock hard to fermenting with no in between.

Having said that, if you've currently found yourself with a bunch of Aldi bananas that are going bad fast, you may just need to pivot your plans. Luckily, we have 13 tasty ways to use overripe bananas, so while they may not be snack-able, they're definitely still salvageable.

Over on Reddit, people are coming up with all kinds of theories, from accusing Aldi of freezing its bananas to blaming the supply chains. Or perhaps the problem comes from how Aldi handles its products in general. As a business, it runs on a model rooted in prioritizing low prices, and as a result, its stores have less staff than other big name stores. This could mean that less time is spent rotating stock or checking produce. So bananas, which are a sensitive fruit when it comes to temperature and how they're handled, could be suffering as a result.

Despite these valid complaints about its bananas, Aldi is still a great store for any budget‑conscious shopper. There are just some things you need to know before your first trip to Aldi to do it properly, and this includes maybe lowering your banana expectations a little. And while shoppers often see browning as a obstacle to snacking, it's exactly this change that makes them sweeter and more flavorful, which is the science behind why bananas taste better in banana bread.