# Are Green Bananas safe to eat?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-green-bananas-safe-to-eat/650847>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 20, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-green-bananas-safe-to-eat/650847 "2013-02-20T01:55:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-green-bananas-safe-to-eat/650847/21 "2013-02-20T19:51:13Z")

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> [@njtt](#):
>
> Er, bananas are green when they are unripe. It is a quite different case from potatoes and garlic, which can turn green if they are too far past ripeness.

Of course. I was just amplifying previous comments. Green is green. Potatoes and garlic age but do not ripen, however. Er.

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**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-green-bananas-safe-to-eat/650847/22 "2013-02-21T02:44:53Z")

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> [@CookingWithGas](#):
>
> They’re certainly safe, but as others have noted they taste better when ripe.

That’s a matter of opinion. I have a lot of company in preferring under-ripe bananas to ripe ones. They’re less mealy/firmer and aren’t as cloyingly sweet as ripes ones are.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-green-bananas-safe-to-eat/650847/23 "2013-02-21T23:45:46Z")

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> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> That’s a matter of opinion. I have a lot of company in preferring under-ripe bananas to ripe ones. They’re less mealy/firmer and aren’t as cloyingly sweet as ripes ones are.

Fair enough. De gustibus non est disputandum.

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