# Do you de-string a banana? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720 "2016-01-20T23:24:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/1 "2016-01-20T23:24:15Z")
Do you remove the “strings” running along a banana’s length before eating it? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/2 "2016-01-20T23:29:44Z")
I eat the entire peel. I put the whole thing, unpeeled, into a blender to make a banana smoothie. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/3 "2016-01-20T23:32:08Z")
Yes, of course. Those stringy things aren’t food. People will say that they are, but they’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/4 "2016-01-20T23:40:07Z")
Other. Any strings that start to come off when I peel it, I pull off. Otherwise, I don’t worry about them. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/5 "2016-01-20T23:43:10Z")
No. Never even thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/6 "2016-01-21T00:04:54Z")
Bananas aren’t edible until speckled. Does this have anything to do with the peels leaving fewer strings? I really never seem to find the stringy parts any more when I eat a nanner. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/7 "2016-01-21T00:10:51Z")
Supposedly when you peel a banana the lifehack way (from the side opposite the stem; use the stem as a handle) it’s supposed to be string-free though when I’ve done it I haven’t found that exactly to be the case. Though I think it might in fact be less stringy than otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/8 "2016-01-21T00:43:17Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I eat the entire peel. I put the whole thing, unpeeled, into a blender to make a banana smoothie. Cool! I absolutely have to try that! re the OP, no, I don’t bother. (Until today, I wasn’t even aware that there were “strings” along a banana.) ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/9 "2016-01-21T00:56:18Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > (Until today, I wasn’t even aware that there were “strings” along a banana.) How could you not be aware? You’ve never peeled one before? ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/10 "2016-01-21T01:03:36Z")
I de-string my bananas, but thought I’d be in a small minority on this. I’m surprised it’s common practice. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/11 "2016-01-21T01:07:15Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Other. > > Any strings that start to come off when I peel it, I pull off. Otherwise, I don’t worry about them. This. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/12 "2016-01-21T01:25:00Z")
Why has the last choice started a “The Call Me Mellow Yellow” earworm on me? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/13 "2016-01-21T01:47:34Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Other. > > Any strings that start to come off when I peel it, I pull off. Otherwise, I don’t worry about them. Another vote for this. My main concern is that I don’t want them falling on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/14 "2016-01-21T01:59:19Z")
I am a destringer. I shiver at the thought of unstrung bananas. To destring is to live. I’m surprised that those of you who don’t destring are still here to talk about it. The string is highly toxic. Have you not learned anything in your adult years?! **jtur88** , you’re going to die! ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/15 "2016-01-21T03:42:53Z")
They don’t kill us; they only make us stronger. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/16 "2016-01-21T03:57:01Z")
> [@scootergirl](#): > > I am a destringer. > I shiver at the thought of unstrung bananas. > To destring is to live. Hear, hear! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/17 "2016-01-21T05:02:45Z")
Strings must be removed. Do not be fooled by the ones that remain fully attached, they are strings, you know it, and you must remove them. And you don’t smoke bananas, just the peel. Art Buchwald wrote a hysterical column about that long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/18 "2016-01-21T05:13:32Z")
Nah, if you de-string them, it’s a royal pain to get them tuned back up to pitch. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/19 "2016-01-21T05:21:23Z")
You do realize, of course, that this is a self-selecting question. If you don’t have any idea what a banana string is, you will not: 1. Remove it 2. Recognize the question ergo, those who open the thread are more likely to be de-stringers. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720/20 "2016-01-21T05:32:26Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > This. Me too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-de-string-a-banana/743720.md?page=2)