Banana is a fruit familiar to everyone. It has a delicious and nutritious taste. Ripe bananas can be used to eat directly, make breakfast or make delicious cakes. Bananas provide healthy sources of fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that are good for health.
When purchasing bananas, you may come across both curved and straight varieties. While some people believe that curved and straight bananas are identical, I’ll reveal the truth about these bananas to assist you in selecting the best ones.
Curved banana
You might not be aware, but when a banana tree starts to bear fruit, the young bananas initially appear straight. As they grow larger and heavier, the fruits gradually reorient themselves toward the sunlight. In a waiting room, you’ll often find numerous baskets with banana bunches overlapping each other. Throughout the development stages, bananas change in size, extend towards the sun, and eventually acquire a curved shape.
Thus, the curved bananas we see are naturally ripe bananas. Due to adequate exposure to sunlight, the taste is also sweeter and more fragrant.
Straight banana
Bananas, being a delectable and juicy fruit, tend to soften and pose preservation challenges once they ripen. Additionally, the transportation process from the harvest location to the point of sale exposes bananas to the risk of scratches, bruises, breakage, and overall damage.
Because of the risk of bananas being broken or crushed during transportation, people often buy bananas that are not really ripe.
These bunches of bananas are often old but not yet fully ripe, so the fruit may not be curved yet. During transportation, bananas can be incubated to continue ripening.
These bananas will definitely be less delicious and flavorful than naturally ripened bananas. Not to mention, if bananas are medicated, it will be harmful to health.
In addition, ripe bananas can still be straight because the tree is grown in a place lacking sunlight. Whatever the reason, straight bananas will still taste better.
When purchasing bananas, apart from noting whether the shape is curved or straight, it’s essential to pay attention to the following three points:
– Strong aroma: This is an important sign for you to know whether the banana is ripe or not. Bananas that have a fragrant smell mean they are not ripe yet, and when eaten, they will not be soft and sweet. If a bunch of bananas smell sour or smell like alcohol, it means the bananas are spoiled and you should buy them.
– Yellowing Banana Stems: Watch for the gradual yellowing of the tops of bananas as an indicator of ripening. When the banana stems turn yellow, it signifies full ripeness. If the banana stem remains green, the banana is not yet ripe enough. Conversely, a blackened banana stem suggests that the fruit has been left for an extended period.
– The peel has dark brown spots: Dark brown spots will appear on the peel of ripe bananas. In the shell, there is a type of oxidase that is easily oxidized. Once the banana is fully ripe, the cells will shrink and burst. Oxidase that comes into contact with air will oxidize and produce dark brown spots on the banana peel.
Bananas with brown spots are ripe and will be soft and sweet when eaten. Bruising bananas also gives the skin a black color, but it is completely different from the black spots when ripe. If you buy bananas with brown spots on the skin, you should eat them immediately. If you leave them for a while, the bananas will spoil and ferment.
