Banana Juice

Factual Questions
1

I was wondering one day, while eating my lunch, why we never see banana juice. I see banana-strawberry juice, mango-banana-pineapple juice, but never just plain old banana juice. I know it’s out there because I see it in other juices. This also got me to wondering why we never see watermelon juice. I mean watermelon juice would be the perfect drink on a hot summer day. There are all kinds of juices available-grape (white and purple), pomegranate, mango, pineapple, apple, orange, grapefruit, etc.

Is there just no market for banana or watermelon juice? Is it not economically feasible to make a profit from? Has nobody considered it? Is it too difficult to keep fresh? Is it part of a larger conspiracy concocted by those Illuminati bastards? Anybody got any clues or insider information on this?

2

Just a WAG, but I suspect the banana flavor in other juices comes from purified banana oil. That’s some strong stuff - They used it to test the fit of gas masks when I was soldiering for a living. If you had any little leak you knew immediately. If you could just squeeze it of bananas and strain out the solids somehow, I suspect it would spoil or oxidize into a nasty brown color quickly.

3

Mmm…watermelon juice would lead to canteloupe and honeydew juice. I don’t see any reason why this juice is not sold. I’ve never seen plain strawberry juice either; it’s usually lurking with its secretive pal Banana.

4

Just as with anything else, it probably comes down to inability to turn a profit. I have a juicer, and when you put a banana in it, it basically just comes out as mushed up banana in the “compost” container.

Watermelon juice would be awesome, though!

ETA: Strawberries don’t juice too well, either.

5

Not sure if it’s what your looking for, but Nantucket Necters makes a Watermelon Strawberry Juice. It tastes like a Jolly Rancer.

6

Bananas, I think, are just not “juicy” enough. Watermelon juice seems appealing at first, but then I think I’d just prefer to eat watermelon.

Great. Now I’m craving watermelon, and it’s January and snowy.

7

I suspect the banana oil they used to test gas masks will have been a synthetic mixture which smells like bananas for the same general reasons bananas smell like bananas, but may not actually be composed of the exact same collection of chemicals.

8

I had watermelon juice in a restaurant in Las Vegas once. You see, I was young and naive, following the same flawed logic that you do- why, Watermelons are refreshing and delicious! Certainly watermelon juice follows suit.

It does not.

In fact, watermelon juice tastes of hate. Pure, unadulterated, icky hate.

9

They’re hardly juicy at all - banana puree does appear in some packaged tropical juice blends, but it’s usually present as a fairly small amount, and even then, makes the mixture conspicuously gloopy.

10

Watermelon juice doesn’t work out anywhere as near as well as you might think. For starters, once you strain out the red “flesh” (cellulose, actually) the juice is grayish.

I’ve done it to make sorbet, and you either need to freeze watermelon juice immediately after obtaining it before the cellulose has a chance to setle out, or add a drop of red food coloring as the gray is fairly unappetizing. IIRC, it’s visually indistinguishable from clam juice.

11

I had some while I was holidaying in Egypt a few years ago. At least the packet said it was banana juice (or maybe banana nectar) and didn’t indicate any other content.

12

Watermelon juice tastes like icky hate? Naahhh, can’t be. (Don’t ruin my dream) Gray is decidedly an unappealing color; however, if they can make raspberry blue I don’t see the problem with making watermelon red.
I can see how it would be difficult to get banana juice, they aren’t very juicy but they sure are tasty. Mmmmm…pudding in a peel. YUM!

13

I think with banana the problem is the starches. Maybe somebody can give their expertise.

14

Banana juice is rare, but I have seen it bottled. I don’t recall where. I haven’t encountered it in years.

As for watermelon juice, that’s pretty easy to get in many places in Europe. In fact, one of the first things I noticed upon moving to Eastern Europe was the incredible selection of juices available in local shops, restaurants, and supermarkets: apple, orange, pineapple, cherry, sour cherry, raspberry, strawberry, black currant, watermelon, mango, papaya, guava, passionfruit, cranberry, rosehip, carrot, beet, white grape, red grape, lemon, lime, grapefruit, peach, apricot, mandarin, blood orange, lychee, coconut, dragonfruit, pomegranate, tomato, plum, blackberry, blueberry, acai, elderberry, and various combinations of the above. (About the only common fruits I haven’t seen juiced so far are kiwi and persimmon.) I’m living in London now and this selection of juices tends to be available in areas where there are a lot of Eastern European or Near/Middle-Eastern immigrants. For example, my local Turkish supermarket has an entire aisle of one-litre tetrapak juices in about 20 varieties. I bought some watermelon juice from there yesterday.

15

I’ll note that bananas are a common ingredient in smoothies (yum!). (Of course, that isn’t really banana juice.)

I once had kiwifruit wine in New Zealand (where else?) - quite good.

16

You can get banana juice in the store near my house. It comes in this tall vaguely oblong cylindrical glass bottle. When you see it in the store, you note that the bottom half of the glass is opaque with banana mush, and the top half is clearish. It is advised to shake before serving, but once shaken - delicious. It is thicker than, say, apple juice, but not really as thick as a milkshake.

I forget what the brand name is, but I can scope it out on the way home tomorrow, if need be.

love
yams!!

17

Yes, Virginia, there is banana juice. Or nectar. I’ve seen it in stores for many years, and I probably bought it once.

18

wonderful stuff:

http://www.c-els.com/sfc/srch/default.asp?sn=E103020060050204&ss=3&sp=1&skw=Looza&sa=0&pupcid=1254

-A-

19

Chiming in that watermelon juice is to be had, just not in US majority culture. Try a Mexican restaurant (a ral one, not Taco Bell).

20

I suspect it’s a Goya product. I’ve seen many unusual juices from Goya. The mush in the bottom sounds familiar too.