# Eating Bananas

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 25, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694 "2016-05-25T20:53:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694/1 "2016-05-25T20:53:17Z")

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Do bananas taste good when picked off the tree and eaten at that moment? Seems like I read somewhere that they have to be picked and then ripened for a spell.

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**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:** [May 25, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694/2 "2016-05-25T21:05:22Z")

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When they are picked ripe they are delicious. Far better than any banana you’ve ever tasted that was ripened off the vine. I can’t say exactly what stage they are when picked, but I was told the bananas I had in Brazil were picked within the past day.

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**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694/3 "2016-05-25T22:07:37Z")

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\*Do bananas taste good when picked off the tree and eaten at that moment? \*

They do if they’re picked ripe.

_Seems like I read somewhere that they have to be picked and then ripened for a spell._

Commercial bananas are picked green for shipping and storing purposes and are ripened before delivery.

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**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694/4 "2016-05-25T23:14:58Z")

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I’ve cut ripe fruit off of my own banana plants in Hawaii and they are delicious.

Some people might not know that there are many, many different varieties of bananas and each have a slightly different flavor. Nothing wrong with the “supermarket” variety, but try some others if you get a chance.

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**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694/5 "2016-05-25T23:54:11Z")

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**Moderator Action**

Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bananas/755694/6 "2016-05-26T01:01:36Z")

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> [@MadTheSwine](#):
>
> Seems like I read somewhere that they have to be picked and then ripened for a spell.

This may be what you saw (old comment, but recently resurrected zombie). Stuck in my mind too, I’ve no idea if it’s true.

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12112975&postcount=9](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12112975&postcount=9)

> [@](#):
>
> …Bananas are one of the few fruits that actually ripen better off the plant than on it. A “tree” ripened banana is starchy and terrible, according to what I’ve heard…