Bananas

Go bananas with flavoursome tips for preparing this family favourite

Best to buy
Avoid fruit with bruises and splits in the skin. Choose firm, green to slightly yellow bunches, and store them at room temperature. The skin of bananas turns black when they are refrigerated, though it does not affect the fruit inside.

Cut & clean
Enjoy bananas when they ripen to a uniform yellow with tiny brown flecks. If fruit is too green, store in a paper bag to speed ripening. Very ripe fruit can be peeled, frozen in freezer bags, and used for baking.

Power food
Bananas are a good source of potassium.

Did you know...?
Mashed bananas can be added to baked goods as a natural sweetener.

Also indexed as: Baby Bananas, Red Bananas

Preparation, uses, and tips

Bananas are very sweet and can be mashed and added to baked goods as a natural sweetener. Frozen bananas can be puréed to make smoothies or a healthy substitute for ice cream. They can be eaten out of hand or sliced and added to fruit salads. For an impressive dessert, flambé sliced bananas and serve over ice cream, or make a nutritious sandwich by combining sliced bananas and peanut butter on whole-grain bread.

In many Latin American and Asian countries, banana leaves are used in place of plates. The leaves work well as wrappers in place of aluminium foil for holding and steaming foods. In Malaysia, the banana flower is cooked and eaten; in Africa, a beer is brewed from bananas.

Because bananas emit a gas that promotes ripening, placing an unripe banana in a paper bag or breathable container with other produce will encourage the produce to ripen more quickly.

Buying and storing tips

Avoid bruised fruit and bananas showing splits in the skin. Choose firm, green to slightly yellow bunches, and store them at room temperature. It is claimed that bananas taste sweeter ripened off the plant. Eat or prepare bananas when they ripen to a uniform yellow with tiny brown flecks. The skin of bananas turns black when they are refrigerated, though it does not affect the quality of the fruit inside. Very ripe fruit can be peeled, frozen in freezer bags, and used for baking.

Varieties

Although about 30 different varieties of bananas exist, North Americans are mostly familiar with three types: the blunt-ended Cavendish; the Gros Michel, known by its tapered ends; and the starchy plantains, which is used only for cooking as a vegetable. There are also dwarf or “baby” bananas and red bananas, among the other varieties.

Nutrition Highlights

Banana, 1 medium
Calories: 108
Protein: 1.2g
Carbohydrate: 27.6g
Total Fat: 0.56g
Fiber: 2.83g
*Good source of: Potassium (467mg)

*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value, based upon United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the USDA Recommended Daily Value. Nutritional information and daily nutritional guidelines may vary in different countries. Please consult the appropriate organization in your country for specific nutritional values and the recommended daily guidelines.

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The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or chemist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires August 2007.