# Banana and Its Peel **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-and-its-peel/745731 "2016-02-10T17:56:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-and-its-peel/745731/1 "2016-02-10T17:56:36Z")
Does the banana draw nutrients (even if just sugar) from the peel as it ripens? I noticed my over-ripened, now black banana peel is painfully thin. And while the banana itself is edible (catching it just before it turns to mush), it makes me wonder if this is true. Surely someone in the botany department of the SD masses can answer this. What’s happening here? FYI: Googling around, there are plenty of uses for a banana peel (besides slapstick comedy)…but no answer. Even Wiki gives its coefficient of friction! > **[Banana peel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_peel)** > > A banana peel, called banana skin in British English, is the outer covering of the banana fruit. Banana peels are used as food for animals, an ingredient in cooking, in water purification, for manufacturing of several biochemical products as well as for jokes and comical situations. > There are several methods to remove a peel from a banana. > Bananas are a popular fruit consumed worldwide with a yearly production of over 165 million tonnes in 2011. Once the peel is removed, the fruit can be eate... ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-and-its-peel/745731/2 "2016-02-10T18:45:47Z")
To the best of my knowledge, there is no mechanism that would transfer nutrients from the banana peel to the flesh once the banana has been picked. The peel becomes thinner because it is breaking down and losing moisture. Any weight that it loses will be in the form of gases to the atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![pieceoftheuniverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@pieceoftheuniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pieceoftheuniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-and-its-peel/745731/3 "2016-02-10T19:08:17Z")
You might want to also look at the wikipedia article on ripening: > **[Ripening](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripening)** > > Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the fruit seem tarter. This effect is attributed to the Brix-Acid Ratio. Climacteric fruits ripen after harvesting and so some fruits for market are picked green (e.g. bananas and tomatoes). > Underripe fruits are also fibrous, not as juicy, and have tougher ... Essentially, the fruit is in a process of slow decay. The complex fibers, starch, and other materials break down over time into simple sugars, making them easier to digest. This (terribly designed) website gives a decent breakdown: [http://plantphys.info/plants\_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml](http://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml) I’m not a biologist, but I believe the reason why the banana is so thin when it’s over-ripe is because: [ul] [li]the cell walls have collapsed[/li][li]the fiber has decayed[/li][li]a lot of the meat is stuck to the peel[/li][/ul] Wait even longer, and the inside of a banana will be little more than goo smeared on the inside of the peel - if you can get it to peel at all. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-and-its-peel/745731/4 "2016-02-10T19:17:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > To the best of my knowledge, there is no mechanism that would transfer nutrients from the banana peel to the flesh once the banana has been picked… Can that be generalized among fruits? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-and-its-peel/745731/5 "2016-02-10T19:28:42Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Can that be generalized among fruits? Yes. There’s not really a system to transfer anything between the peel and the rest of the fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-and-its-peel/745731/6 "2016-02-10T19:48:55Z")
Huh. Never thought of that, always assumed (like OP, I guess) some had it more, some less. That’s why we have a skin and an apple has a peel.