I find myself with overripe bananas about every other week, so our family eats a lot of banana bread. The freezer also has become sort of a halfway house for wayward over-ripened bananas. If you like to cook and hate throwing food away, these bananas are a gift, a gateway ingredient to something delicious.

I have a thing for crystallized ginger. My grandfather introduced me to it when I was a kid. He would have loved this bread studded with nuggets of chewy sweet ginger and bits of melty chocolate.

If you use a glass loaf pan, allow a few extra minutes of baking time.

For great banana muffins, line 12 regular muffin tins with paper liners. Fill them about three-quarters of the way full with batter. Bake for 23 to 27 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when pressed lightly at the center. Let them sit in the tins on wire racks for 5 minutes, then gently turn them out of the tins and cool them upright on the rack.

Start to finish: 1 hour (20 minutes active), plus coolingServings: 122 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon salt¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips½ cup chopped crystallized ginger½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature¾ cup sugar2 large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 large very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 cup mashed)½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurtHeat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or coat with cooking spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the chocolate and the ginger.In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Blend in the mashed bananas and sour cream.Switch to a wooden spoon and add the flour mixture in batches to the wet mixture, mixing just until each addition is incorporated. At the end, the batter should be barely blended (it will be thick).Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted at the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan and finishing cooling upright on the wire rack.