This Story’s Gone Bananas, But Here’s Why Bananas Deserve A Little More Love

This story’s gone a little bananas, but it’s with yummy reasons why. Besides being my favourite fruit, it’s quite a bunch to learn!

Bananas? Yes. For as long as I’ve had the fortune—or is it?—to live, my pick of fruit has swung between this and that. However, when it comes to this funny finger of a fruit that refuses to sit still, it’s that one unshakable favourite off my list. And somewhere along this train of thought, I’ve learnt a lot more than I meant to about this cheerful crescent, and I’m hoping it’s something you can indulge in, too.

On being bananas: starting off a-peel

I’d known bananas that are still a little green are, in truth, edible, yet their starchy and rather stringy bite invites little want for me to munch. The root of it is that the lighter the stage they are in, the mealier they taste, and it’s the darker ones that hold a sweeter touch. It all counts on the sunny arc—starchy one day, sweet the next, depending on how you want to use it in the kitchen.

Still, as the sweetness sets in, oftentimes you have people believing that blackened bananas belong in the bin. For ones that are a little poor-looking, or have started to sport a few aging spots, they’re not spared the same fate either. It is displeasing to know, since I find those to be particularly yummy to have.

Did you know that their botanical classification is not as we’d all imagined? Curiously enough, the plant is a massive herb, with its so-called trunk wrapped in overlapping leaf sheaths. And speaking in plant logic, a banana is a berry because it’s a fleshy fruit that springs from the ovary of a single flower. Quite the bunch, huh?

The bright side of the bunch

To me, bananas are decisively a golden ticket to the loo. Though I reckon that can sound a touch concerning, it’s actually all down to their dietary fibre. Still, there’s no denying that bananas are the attendant to your gastrointestinal troubles. Peeling back these thoughts, bananas are a rich bunch. They’re pocketfuls of vitamin B6 and C, nudging up your iron and building red blood cells, as well as pinches of potassium to keep things ticking smoothly—heart, blood pressure, and all. The manganese in bananas is key to collagen production as well, helping to cast a protective spell over your skin and cells against oxidative stress.

Fat-free as they are, bananas run on three natural sugars that keep them sweetly simple and energising without a hint of fuss. To peel it simply, it’s sugar you can binge on without the same guilt.

Bananas are a rather handy bunch. Just a peel, and you have a snack-on-a-stick. No mess, no sticky fingers—unless you’re the sort to pluck and bite bits off. Thanks to this monkey’s delight that comes with its own coat, we have a convenient chew on the go. In utterly bananas fashion, it apparently isn’t uncommon to polish leather shoes or silver with the peel. So, on the days you have a killer pair of boots on and they look like they could do with some freshening up, you know what to do.

Bananas at work

Young

Bananas in green are typically used in savoury dishes or stews rather than had raw. Textured much like a potato, and high in resistant starch, you can chop them up before tossing them into a salted boil. It’s a common cooking script in Caribbean and Indian cuisines to have them paired with veggies, or even with some meat. Throw a few dices of banana into curries, soups, and stews, and you’ll be lapping up spoonfuls bursting with warmth. When finely sliced and then fried, these young banana chips take on a good crunch. On the other hand, if you boil and blend them with butter, then you have yourself a yummy, mealy mash.

Ripe

Ripe ones are a cake walk—good any way you go about it. Raw and ready, its sweetness plays well with savoury dishes alongside sweet drinks and desserts. I’m talking banana bread, pudding, and banana smoothie—my top three! Besides those, I’d be remiss to forget the iconic banana split. There’s a sunny energy about ripe bananas. Perhaps it’s in how sweetly it can talk, whispering of mornings and of ease and effortlessness.

Old

From a greenie to a gentle crooner in peel and pulp, yet once they’ve hit their ripe old age, they slip into their mushy era. Just about everyone can turn to this total softie for their dose of sugar. Lending themselves well to a classic banana bread, it’s these blackened ones that still harbour a gentle honeyed hush behind their peel. But the baked goods aren’t limited to only that; there are waffles, pancakes, cookies, and cakes to stir that could all use their sweeter touch. Plus, the natural sweetness can be a substitute for sugar when required in a recipe.

To sweeten things further, since I’ve mentioned banana splits, chuck the old and overripe bananas into the blender to create a lovely churn. Soft serve that’s dairy-free and dreamy—or as I like to call it, nice cream! For vegan baked recipes, old bananas make for a perfect binder and moisture source to replace eggs. This might sound oddly a-peel-ling, simply because the idea hasn’t rung in my mind, but why couldn’t it work in a banana jam? Banana sauces and syrups are another way you could employ these senior yellow citizens.

Forever in the bunch

Whether a finger, a hand, or a whole bunch, bananas are my favourite for countless tasty reasons. They change their coat as if auditioning for a role, moving from green to gold—once the bright, showy newcomer, now a mature star of the rack. Yeah, this story’s gone a little bananas, indeed.