Kristen Cook
Black bananas quickly end up in household waste. You don’t look very appetizing. Many wonders if bananas that are completely black on the outside are still edible. Could it be bad for your health? The answers are clear!
It happens to everyone: Just a moment ago, the bananas we bought were pretty yellow. As soon as they are stored in the fruit basket at home, they already get brown spots. The desire to eat such bananas decreases with each passing day. A short time later, the entire banana peel is dark brown to black. Many are unsure whether such bananas are still edible. Are they even harmful to health?
Why does the banana turn black?
Bananas aren’t like apples or pears, where brown spots indicate rot. On the contrary: After harvesting and transport, the bananas usually reach the supermarkets unripe and green. Only during storage does the plant hormone ethylene ensure that the banana continues to ripen.
Even if we prefer to see the tropical fruit in perfect yellow: Small, brown spots on the banana show that the banana is only ripe and has developed its full, sweet aroma. The longer the banana is stored at room temperature, the browner it will become, eventually turning the skin completely dark brown or black.
Other fruit and the fridge will brown bananas foster
By the way, the ripening process is accelerated if you store the bananas next to other fruit. If the banana comes into contact with apples, tomatoes, or citrus fruits, which also produce a lot of ethylene, it will ripen faster. The ethylene from the other fruits encourages the banana to produce more of the hormone as well.
Protecting the bananas from ripening too quickly in the fridge is also not a good idea. Cold stresses the sensitive tropical fruits, causing them to brown more quickly. If you want to keep the bananas longer, store them in a dark and dry place away from other fruit.
Are black bananas still edible?
What happens when the bananas at home or in the bag have turned black? Bananas with brown spots or black skin are often wrongly spurned. Because it’s far from bad in such a state. The perfect banana is one that already has brown spots on the skin. It has matured well and provides us with ideal minerals.
Only in a few cases are dark and blotchy bananas spoiled. Appearances are often deceptive. A look behind the skin shows whether the bananas are still edible. Anyone who has ever peeled a banana with black skin will be surprised at how good the fruit can still look. It is then usually dark yellow, smells very sweet and aromatic, and is still edible.
If you don’t like to eat overripe bananas, you can use them for:
- smoothie
- banana bread
- Homemade banana ice cream
Then black bananas are harmful!
Looking at and behind the skin and our sense of smell are reliable tools to check if bananas are spoiled. If the banana peel shows signs of mold, it belongs immediately in the household waste or on the compost. Mold is harmful to health.
If a foul smell comes out of the peel when peeling, you should also keep your hands off the bananas. This odor indicates the decomposition process through fermentation, during which alcohol is formed.
If the banana turns black inside, is it still edible?
A black banana is therefore edible in most cases. But what if the banana is no longer yellow on the inside? The flesh of the banana may have brown spots. These are often caused by pressure points. At these points, the banana is very ripe and tastes sweet as sugar. If you don’t like it, you can cut out these spots.
If the banana is completely brown or black inside, it usually smells rotten and should no longer be eaten.
This factor makes black bananas healthy
Anyone who thinks only light yellow bananas are healthy is wrong. Because ripe bananas with brown spots and black bananas are a natural means of cancer prevention. The more brown spots the peel contains, the more effective they are said to be. Ripe bananas contain the protein TNF and tumor necrosis factor. This supports the immune system in fighting against degenerated cells in the body.
The blacker the banana, the higher the TNF content. In addition, the increased alkali content of brown bananas is said to activate our white blood cells, which also play an important role in fighting cancer. The positive anti-cancer effect of black bananas is said to be 8 times stronger than that of unripe bananas.
Black bananas are not only edible, but they are also particularly healthy because of their anti-cancer effect and should therefore be eaten regularly.
