# Apples Oranges or Banans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 23, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306 "2021-01-23T18:55:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/1 "2021-01-23T18:55:35Z")
Which would you rather I find in your lunchbox? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/2 "2021-01-23T18:57:41Z")
Me? I like oranges. Plus peeling them is relaxing. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/3 "2021-01-23T19:06:17Z")
Oranges used to be my favorite, but they don’t taste good to me anymore and I miss the flavor so much. I don’t know if it’s me or if oranges just suck now. Then I went through a phase of loving Golden Delicious Apples, but they are too mealy for me now. Again, I don’t know if it’s me or or what. So, by default for me, it’s bananas these days. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/4 "2021-01-23T19:17:25Z")
Oranges. I tend to pack a tangerine for work every day. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/5 "2021-01-23T19:31:25Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Which would you rather I find in your lunchbox? I would rather you stay out of my lunchbox altogether, but most especially on days when I carry highly radioactive materials around in it. Glowing bananas are the best – like eating a fuel rod, only mushier – but pulsating oranges sometimes hit the spot. If you must break-and-enter my lunchbox, take the damn apple, but breach its core at your own risk. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/6 "2021-01-23T19:32:37Z")
In preference order: 1. Orange 2. Banana 3. Apple If we add in other options: 1. Orange 2. Grapes 3. Banana 4. Peach (although the quality of peaches is so variable they can place much higher or much lower) 5. Pear 6. Apple 7. Mango 8. Grapefruit ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/7 "2021-01-23T19:39:50Z")
Orange without hesitation. A Cara-Cara perhaps. Bananas can just eff-off. Maybe a _good_ Anjou pear on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/8 "2021-01-23T21:49:13Z")
Great, now thanks to spellcheck or some such, people think I root around in their lunchboxes. All I do is kick them to see how far they fly. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/9 "2021-01-24T02:56:19Z")
I prefer bananas. Don’t like raw citrus, apple maybe, but the banana’s the fruit for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/10 "2021-01-24T02:58:37Z")
I’m Union. One of each or we walk. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/11 "2021-01-24T03:24:39Z")
If clementines or tangerines count as oranges, then I’m good with that. Navel oranges and such, not so much. I’m cool with apples too as long as they are crisp and flavorful. Not big on bananas at all, though fried or sauteed plantains are nice. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/12 "2021-01-24T03:47:37Z")
Oranges. Bananas are too bland and cloyingly sweet. Apples from an orchard are good, especially when fresh. Apples from the supermarket aren’t half as good. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/13 "2021-01-24T03:53:24Z")
Apples unless you can get me finger bananas. But the apples have to be tart. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/14 "2021-01-24T06:01:46Z")
Bananas are less messy. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/15 "2021-01-24T06:07:10Z")
The thing about bananas is that I feel they’re the most dependable fruit. They generally all taste the same. They’re never exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/16 "2021-01-24T08:07:49Z")
OK, depends on the apple. I hate mealy apples. If they’re crisp and crunchy and not TOO sour, they’re my number one picky. Much as I love 'em, bananas are a poor choice for a lunch box unless you bubble wrap 'em or carry your lunch box like it contains a live grenade. Nothing makes lunch more depressing than a bruised banana that’s leaked its insides all over your sandwich. I really like oranges, but because they’re acidic, they make me feel hungry sooner, and they can be messy. So…apples. ---
**Author:** ![Enjoy\_Slurm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enjoy_slurm/32/3937_2.png) [@Enjoy\_Slurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enjoy_Slurm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/17 "2021-01-24T08:24:50Z")
Definitely a banan. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/18 "2021-01-24T08:28:18Z")
Just so it’s not a bandana. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/19 "2021-01-24T13:58:40Z")
Bananas make a good addition to a lunch, but the logistics are too annoying: There’s about a two-day window of proper ripeness, so you either buy them only two at a time, or you have to suffer through a progression of not-ripe-enough bananas to too-ripe bananas. And you have to be very careful if you carry your lunch in a non-rigid container. So lately, I’ve given up on them, and bring an orange or an apple. I like variety, so it can be either: Lately, mostly apples, because they tend to be cheaper and of better quality in the fall and early winter, but we’re probably about at the point where it’ll switch back to oranges. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306/20 "2021-01-24T14:05:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s about a two-day window of proper ripeness, We buy a bunch (a hand?) of bananas. When just a hair underripe, we share them with our African Grey. At peak ripeness we eat them. Once over ripe, they get peeled, broken up, and bagged for the freezer. Frozen bananas are future smoothie ingredients. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-oranges-or-banans/931306.md?page=2)