# Banana Juice **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365 "2008-01-28T21:48:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365/21 "2008-01-29T16:15:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by masterofnone > 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. > > 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. > [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=banana%20oil](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=banana%20oil) My understanding is that “banana oil” (which smells powerfully of bananas – I’ve smelled it) actually has nothing to do with bananas (unlike other esters, like wintergreen oil, which do). It’s Isoamyl Acetate. But the relevant Wiki page doesn’t confirm or deny the banana connectionL: > **[Isoamyl acetate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isoamyl_acetate)** > > Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the molecular formula .mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su{display:inline-block;font-size:80%;line-height:1;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su\>span{display:block;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output sub.template-chem2-sub{font-size:80%;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output sup.template-chem2-sup{font-size:80%;vertical-align:0.65em}C7H14O2. It is a colorless liqu... ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365/22 "2008-01-29T16:45:31Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] My understanding is that “banana oil” (which smells powerfully of bananas – I’ve smelled it) actually has nothing to do with bananas (unlike other esters, like wintergreen oil, which do). It’s Isoamyl Acetate. But the relevant Wiki page doesn’t confirm or deny the banana connectionL: > **[Isoamyl acetate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isoamyl_acetate)** > > Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the molecular formula .mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su{display:inline-block;font-size:80%;line-height:1;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su\>span{display:block;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output sub.template-chem2-sub{font-size:80%;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output sup.template-chem2-sup{font-size:80%;vertical-align:0.65em}C7H14O2. It is a colorless liqu... [/QUOTE] On thinking about this more, I suspect that you’re both probably right that what we used was synthetic, but that a banana’s smell probably is because the banana produces isoamyl acetate naturally. I used to brew a hefe weissen (wheat beer) that had a slight banana scent caused by the yeast strain producing isoamyl acetate. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365/23 "2008-01-29T16:55:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Banana oil is the common name of the chemical compound properly known as amyl acetate, or C7H14O2. It is a colorless liquid ester derived from amyl alcohol, and although its scent strongly resembles that of bananas (hence the name), **it is not found naturally in the fruit of the banana tree.** [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/16/140451.php](http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/16/140451.php) ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365/24 "2008-01-29T17:04:03Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/16/140451.php](http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/16/140451.php) [/QUOTE] Your google-fu is better than mine! ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365/25 "2008-01-29T17:29:54Z")
It would probably require special equipment. I know that most home juicers specifically warn that trying to juice a banana will kill your juicer. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365/26 "2008-01-29T17:48:44Z")
FWIW, I’ve seen watermelon juice at Trader Joe’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banana-juice/435365.md?page=1)