Ripe Bananas for Baking: How Ripe Should Bananas Be?

Experienced bakers know that the best bananas for baking — you know, for banana muffins, banana bread, even banana cake — are very ripe bananas. But how dark, how ripe, should we let bananas go? In a happy accident, I've discovered what I call "black bananas". They streeeettttch the ripening time by many weeks and draw out even more of that luscious banana flavor that banana lovers crave. Bakers, prepare to exercise great, great patience before baking with bananas. When Is a Ripe Banana Ripe Enough for Baking? left/top ~ A "green banana" is an "unripe" banana. It may be tinged with green but is often yellow. A green banana makes for unremarkable banana-baking. center ~ It's tempting to start baking with a banana once it starts to develop some brown spots. But patience, patience, that banana's not ready yet! right/bottom ~ A banana must be really ripe — nearly all brown and even, if you want, well into "black" — to yiel