What color is Your banana?

Maybe i am just ocd lately, but my banana has to be just turning yellow, still a little green towards the top, with NO brown spots on it.  I have to go to the grocery store every other day to get a new banana! My hubby and kids think i am nuts.  I'll buy a bunch 5-6, thinking the kids will eat them too, but apparantly i have sniped at them one time too many to take an older riper one! I think i finally lost it tonight when my 10 yr old asked if he could have a banana...he came back from the kitchen 3 x to ask...can i have This one??? Ok, i have problem...but i can't stand it when they get mushy, or brown- the flavor changes!!  And i can't make a decent banana loaf to save my life! oh what to do, what to do??

Do you all have food fetishes??? let's hear 'em!

you know ....thats an unripe banana right? When they get softer and some spots on them, thats when they are actually ripe (And more flavorful)...

If you go even farther and they are super mooshy and totally different colors....thats the most flavor (but bad texture) ...which is why its used in banana bread (because texture isnt a problem, the flavor is the key).

Basically...

You eat bananas wrong!!!!

eewwwww mooshy bananas...

no i eat them wrong too got to be yellow although i don't mind a few small brown spots.

I prefer my bananas unripe as well, but will love them either way. Recently I`ve mostly used them in recipes and by then they`re soft and squishy.

I don't understand why my banana bread ends up more like a cakey tecture, than the super moist loaves my friends/relatives come up with.  And i don't bake much, what else can i use the riper ones in?  I have a pile of about 10 rejects on my counter at the moment!

I love unripe bananas as well! I cannot stand the flavor of ripe bananas for some reason, it tastes SWEETER  to me while it is unripe. I don't think there is any wrong way to eat a banana like some people might think.

In my pre-CC days, I'd usually use a batch of bisquick with whatever was called for (eggs, water/milk, sugar, oil, etc) and a couple of very ripe bananas to make it and I had no problems- very moist and sticky! *goes off to find a better recipe now that she wants banana bread!*

Original Post by amandief:

, I'd usually use a batch of bisquick

 ........... isnt that just....flour and some baking powder?...

Guess i better run out and grab a box of bisquick! Like i said lorik, i don't bake much so the easier the better.  I guess i could always make smoothies, but the kids never seem to leave any ice in the freezer. Lil boogers!

There are benefits to eating slightly green banana's. It has to do with the sugar content going up as they get more yellow. I looked it up, but I can't (don't know how) to copy it here....so look up "health benefits to green banana's" to read more if you want to. I like them a bit green too :) But, VERY VERY ripe for baking.

Personally - I eat my bananas at any ripeness, but I enjoy them the most when they're perfectly ripe to overripe!

Mmmm a sweet mushy banana!

This is a funny post yet I also get picky on my bananas. I like them ripe...starting to get "mooshy". I don't like dents and brown areas. I buy a weeks worth but buy some green and some yellow so I know the green ones will riped by the end of the week. I was happy to see many gas stations and convient stores carry bananas since I travel a lot.

I will sometimes spend a good five minutes in front of the banana display at the store trying to find the perfect bunch.  I will not eat them when the actual banana has brown spots, but I will eat them when the skin has brown spots.  I prefer them when they're perfectly yellow except maybe a little bit of green by the stem.  Firm, but sweet.

When they get too ripe, I toss them in the freezer and save them up for banana bread.  If your bread is to dry, just add another banana!

I like mine the same way as the OP. No brown spots, no mushy spots inside...

So, im obviously a freak.... but what ill do is but them when they have been out for about a day. Then ill leave them on the counter for a couple days till they juuuuust start to brown a bit then i throw them in the fridge so theyre cold when i have one for breakfast. The peel goes brown faster but like everything else its whats on the inside that counts. Just make sure you dont put them in the drawer with any other fruits or veggies. They go bad quicker... figured that out the hard way.

Original Post by loriklorik:

Original Post by amandief:

, I'd usually use a batch of bisquick

........... isnt that just....flour and some baking powder?...

And your point?..... Like I said, Pre-CC days.

Here's a sure fire way to slow down ripening for those who like them less ripe...as soon as you get home from the store, detach each banana from the bunch and keep each one at least a foot away from its "friends."  The gases released from bananas cause ripening and will accelerate ripening if touching or near other bananas.  My hubby thinks I'm nuts because I will buy a bunch and stash them in different places in the kitchen...I just need to remember where I put them!

Also, for banana baked goods, use ripe, nearly brown bananas.  Trust me, even if you prefer the taste of less ripe raw ones, baked goods are much better when they are more ripe.

It depends on what I'm using it for. For eating plain, I prefer it slightly unripe. For sandwiches, any type is fine as long as it's not too mushy. For whipping into oatmeal I like ripe to slightly overripe, and for baking definitely overripe. Ripe to overripe is also perfect for freezing.

Over-ripe bananas are awesome in homemade smoothies!  Mix them in a blender with a bit of milk, a bit of plain, non-fat yogurt, and maybe another kind of fruit (I keep frozen strawberries on hand).  You may not even need sweetener because bananas are so sweet.  And you can freeze them in small cups, with a spoon in the middle, to make home-made popscicles.  My kids love them!

As for my bananas, I do like the unripe, slightly green ones better, but they make my throat itch.  The ripe ones with spots don't so much, but I don't like the way they taste.

I can't tolerate any green on my bananas.  Just pretty yellow and perfectly ripe.  

If they get too ripe, I cut them in chunks and freeze them.  They go great in Chunky Monkeys (a not-diet-friendly tropical drink to be enjoyed poolside!).

bright yellow with a bit of green remaining.  (mind you, i don't like bananas much)

yellow and brown = going into the freezer for baking with.

Since I rarely eat plain bananas, I like them yellow with brown spots. I usually use them in smoothies or for oatmeal, so they are best with a bit of mush. They're also much sweeter so I can cut down on the added sweeteners.