I’ve got roughly 15 lbs of bananas left. I’ve already converted about 10 lbs of them from their natural state, into a new and delicious state- that of Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips.
No, I won’t share the secret of the conversion with you. I barely know you, and there could be repercussions. It’s a lot like alchemy.
Here’s my question- why is it that there are ALMOST always six bananas in a bunch? I carefully examine the edges of the thick connective stems, and don’t see apparent signs of hacking off of extras by pickers.
Sometimes you see less, and upon inspection you might find that one has been torn away. Still, it looks like an even half-dozen is the rule of thumb.
Are they bred this way? Is it true that wild native bananas are rectangular and grow in bunches of 7-10, and have been scientifically forced to grow in a more banana-like shape, and to perfectly conform to a half-dozen bunch?
I must know this. It won’t stop me from baking today ( I’ve got another batch about to go in, 8 loaf trays at a clip ). However, it has become a bit of an obsession with me. Most fruit doesn’t affect me this way, but as you can see, I’ve some “issues” with bananas. Anyone know the Straight Dope here?
I had no idea hamsters liked bananas. This post has been eaten at least once.
In North America and Europe we average 3 to 8 fingers (what you call a banana) in a “cluster”, what you are calling a bunch. They are cut from full “hands” at the banana packing shed into these sizes to allow for the removal of “wild” fingers, or those which do not conform to the shape of the cluster. The shape of the cluster is critical for the tight fit when packed into boxes. There are two layers in each hand, with about 15 to 25 fingers per hand, fewer finger on the hands lower on the stem, or bunch. One stem can have 17 hands in good soil, but normally 8 to 10 hands on a stem.
From small to big: Finger, Cluster, Hand, Stem (or Bunch).
At the packing house the clusters are divided into three sizes and placed onto a tray which holds about 44 pounds. Large-fingered clusters in one section, then medium-fingered clusters, and small-fingered clusters. The packers look at the clusters and pack in either three of four layers in a standard 40 lb banana box, putting them together like a 3-D Puzzle.
Process: Harvesters cut Stems, or Bunches, and transport to shed.
Workers cut hands from stem, and cull bad fingers, dump in water tank.
Other workers pick them out of one tank, cut the hands into clusters, culls bad bananas, and places them in another tank.
Other workers take the well-bathed clusters out and sorts them by finger length and curvature, then they get treated again and packed.
Interestingly, in the Far East we pack whole hands (15 to 25 fingers), not clusters.
Depending on what website you look at, there are 75, 400, or 500 different types of bananas identified. The Cavendish is the one seen most often in North America. Banana strains have varying susceptibility to disease, and the ‘Gros Michel’ variety used to be the dominant type grown in Latin America and the Caribbean for export to the US, but a disease known as the Panama Disease, a fusarial wilt, wiped it out from an economical standpoint between 1910 and 1955. The ‘Cavendish’ was more resistant, and became dominant in that region in the late 50’s and early 60’s, and continues in it’s regional dominance today. It is thought the banana as we know it originated in Asia, possibly China, and was transported across the globe by plant material, not seeds. Over the last 2500 years or so, it has adapted to climates, interbreeding, and and diseases to become widely varied across the globe. Some regions of the world have rampant problems with disease or bugs, while other regions are void of those pests.
Wow, Uncle, you rock. Okay, so there are many varieties of banana. I just read a most fascinating article on the infamous Fruit Detective, and I’m now convinced that our fruits and fresh veggies have been watered down to the lowest common denominator, just like lots of other things in this great country of ours. ( You International Dopers reading this, don’t get your doidies in a twist, I’m JEALOUS of your fresh produce, not to mention the more forward-thinking attitudes regarding romance. But, I digress).
So, they grow in immense bunches. A person could lose an eyeball, walking under a falling bunch of 44 bananas. Sheeesh.
Strange. Whatever anatomical designation you use for the things on the supermarket shelves, all the produce sections I’ve ever seen provide them in a variety of counts, up to about 12 or so. Selection further enhanced by other shoppers breaking off the number they want and leaving the rest. I’ve never seen a store that seemed to break them only into six banana arrangements.
The local chain supermarkets around here do often provide 2 or 3 varieties, not counting plantains. I like the little red ones - they don’t seem to turn brown as fast, either.
Odd fact - Iceland produces bananas. All that geothermal makes greenhouses economical, and bananas turn out to be a good greenhouse crop.
Absolutely. Indiana is a dreary wasteland of “Washington” apples that are better used as candles than as food.
And the bananas we get in the USA often aren’t really much better. I used to work at a facility that did banana research (Cavendish), so one of our greenhouses was devoted to producing “negative control” fruits. That meant I got to have bananas that were fully ripened on the plant. They are not flat-sided but completely round when ripe, and the flavor is different.
