Bananas

Bananas are our most popular fruit by far. Easy to eat, no peeling and no washing required! On average we each eat 10kg of bananas every year (about 100 bananas). There are hundreds of edible varieties that fall into two distinct species: the banana and the plantain banana.

Although it looks like a tree, the Banana is actually a plant. The Banana plant grows up to 15 metres and belongs to the same family as the lily and orchid. Bananas grow in clusters of 50-150, with individual bananas grouped in bunches known as ‘hands’ of 10-20 at a time.

Best time to eat a Banana

Unripe bananas have a higher starch content. As they ripen, the starch is converted to sugar (and the fruit becomes sweeter). Green bananas are also a good source of pectin, which is a type of dietary fibre found in fruits and helps them to keep their structural form. Pectin breaks down when a banana becomes overripe, which causes the fruit to become softer.

Nutritional

Bananas are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world for good reason. Eating them could help lower blood pressure and reduce the risks of cancer and asthma. read more They are rich in Potassium and Fibre.

Bananas provide a variety of vitamins and minerals:

• Vitamin B6 – 0.5 mg
• Manganese – 0.3 mg
• Vitamin C – 9 mg
• Potassium – 450 mg
• Dietary Fiber – 3g
• Protein – 1 g
• Magnesium – 34 mg
• Folate – 25.0 mcg
• Riboflavin – 0.1 mg
• Niacin – 0.8 mg
• Vitamin A – 81 IU
• Iron – 0.3 mg

Banana Storage

Luckily most of your Bananas in your office fruit delivery will have gone before you need to worry about storage.  Bananas left in a bunch typically ripen slower and if you want to preserve the perfect Banana a Banana hanger is a good investment. It hangs the fruit by the combined stems and allows air to evenly circulate around each fruit. This will eliminate “resting bruises” from the fruit laying on each other.

Bananas are a tropical fruit and love warm weather. They do not do well in colder temperatures. If you chill your bananas before they are ripe it’s likely they will not be as sweet once you do consume them and they can often turn a greyish colour. Store bananas at room temperature until you eat them or they are fully ripe.

Tips to ripen your Bananas Faster

If you want to ripen your Bananas faster try putting them into a brown paper bag and roll the bag shut. Doing so traps the ethylene gas that is naturally emitted by bananas (and other fruits such as apples) that encourages ripening; by trapping the gas, you quicken the process.

Other Potential Health Benefits

Depression

Bananas may help to overcome depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD), due to their high levels of tryptophan, which your body turns into serotonin; the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter read more