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What the hell is wrong with bananas these days?

posted 7 years ago by strntz (12773)
19 replies | jump to latest

Yep. Bananas.

When I was a kid, bananas had a tough skin - not the wet cotton type skin the recent crop has. Even when the skin became spotted brown, the fruit itself stayed firm and yellow long after the skin started to darken. I remember we used to find firm fruit under even darkened skin as they aged.

I told my wife to stop buying them. The last batch of Chiquita bananas was the last straw. Just a day or so after they ripen, they start to get mushy even before the skin starts to brown. The skin itself peels off like wet paper and shreds. The bananas taste OK as long as you eat them in the two day window from when they're no longer green and when they're mush.

These are not your father's bananas. Anybody else noticed the same thing?

[–] DoctorFever (485) 7 years ago

We aren't eating gros Michael's but instead Cavendish. They suck!

[–] GlenEllyn (21659) 7 years ago

Now that you mention it, yes, I do notice they're not like they used to be. Since it's just me eating them I buy just three or four partly green ones so I have some time to eat them. But within a day or so they're already past their prime. And I dislike mushy bananas! I don't make banana bread, but even if I did I could never keep up with the speed at which bananas hit the "bread" stage.

[–] Padeen (6459) 7 years ago

Maybe it has something to do with the Ethelyne Gas they use to help ripen them? Not really sure how long we have been doing that though. Fun fact: Most people think bananas are ripe when they are yellow, but they are actually at its peak ripeness when they have a good amount of brown spots.

[–] slimone (7996) 7 years ago

I haven't noticed any difference. Put bananas in the refrigerator to keep them from getting spotty and mushy.

[–] Padeen (6459) 7 years ago

As I mentioned above, spots are good. It means the fruit is at its peak ripeness and is easily digestible.

[–] strntz (12773) 7 years ago

Put bananas in the refrigerator to keep them from getting spotty and mushy.

Sigh... I'm 61 years old, I've been eating bananas since I was a kid and buying them as an adult for over 40 years. Something has changed.

When we were kids, we could cut up bananas into slices and put them in our Corn Flakes. They were firm yet ripe. Things have changed. The name brand bananas my wife buys (Chiquita) are green when she gets them, yellow for a day, and mushy inside the second day even when the skins are still yellow. The skins also fall apart like wet paper - something they didn't do years ago.

I've been thinking that this could be a Chiquita problem. In the interest of science and boredom, I'm going to experiment with different brands of bananas and report back.

[–] mike (327) 7 years ago

Ive been buying Dole for the last few years and have always enjoyed them.

[–] Frogarama (12942) 7 years ago

Sounds like this strain of bananas is now over-domesticated. Find a new strain. Living things are almost never static. They tend to change over time.

[–] slimone (7996) 7 years ago

I don't care for them when they are spotted. I prefer ripe but not spotted. Just like the taste better.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 7 years ago

Yeah, times are tough, Bro.

😎

[–] snepts (11123) 7 years ago

One thing I notice is the markets seem glutted with bananas. I go to convenience stores, and they have bananas prominently on display, and fairly cheap. Then I'll go to Target, which is only a fringe grocery store (I like Target, but they are slowly becoming a grocery destination, so their selection is lavish), and they've got bananas all around the front of the store.
They're everywhere.

[–] Starman (412) 6 years ago

As a raw vegan for years I've been eating 20 bananas a day sometimes and I dont see much difference, but I just can't remember how they used to be about 20 years ago, I wish I could, you're really good if you can remember.

[–] Padeen (6459) 6 years ago

Now thats dedication! I've been vegan for almost 6 months now and bananas are a staple of mine. Do you take B12?

[–] Starman (412) 6 years ago

?!?... healthy clean human bodies do not need B12, because the body produces it on its own when it's clean, that means by either fasting on water or urine (a month long minimum) or perhaps colonics... it's all in the cells that need to be allowed to start producing on their own. I've never been taking any B12 for 8 years being raw, and I'm fine. But when you're raw, then sometimes a blood check can confuse people thinking that they have critically low B12, and so they need to take it, no that's not how it works, one has to understand that when you're raw and eating maximum 1200 calories a day, the body automatically does not need too much B12. A raw vegan who has been regularly fasting, one doesn't need to eat much, therefore does not need much B12 either. However each body is different, but this is generally the principle that one can learn from some long time raw vegans.

[–] Padeen (6459) 6 years ago

But isn't it produced in the colon where it can't be absorbed? Not saying your wrong, but I find it too risky so I'm going to eventually start taking it. Right now I think I'm fine since I used to be a meat eater and the body can store enough B12 for 5 years give or take.

[–] Starman (412) 6 years ago

I'll direct you to this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPondxw5Ek8

I have been a vegan before being raw for 10 years, so in general I have not been taking any B12 for more than 10 years, and the last blood check from 4 years ago showed that basically I am supposed to be suffering consequences by now, it never happened, and I never felt better. Doctors are completely confused about this understandably, there's a lot they don't know or don't understand, their own scales and measurements of what is norm is based on the population eating mostly meat or vegetarians. The whole idea of B12 is a myth that concerns only those with clogged up colons.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

20 bananas a day seems a little excessive. You must have constipation.

[–] Skullomania (483) 6 years ago

I think the scientists been a tinkering and screwed them up in the name of more sweetness.

Granny Smith apples are another failure. They were my faves because they used to be sourish. Now they're just like eating a normal apple and normal apples are like eating candy.