# How ripe do you like your bananas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304 "2013-03-18T22:18:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/21 "2013-03-19T11:46:58Z")
I eat them when they’re entirely yellow, then peel/bag/freeze them for smoothies. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/22 "2013-03-19T12:18:42Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > If you don’t like bananas, this isn’t the thread for you. Well I don’t like the taste of bananas really, but this is why I eat them when they’re so unripe that they barely taste like a banana at all, more like a vegetable. I should stick to plantains, but they are quite hard to come by where I live (Bristol, England). ---
**Author:** ![Donna\_Lange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Donna\_Lange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donna_Lange)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/23 "2013-03-19T12:35:59Z")
For eating purposes, mostly yellow almost no brown For image purposes, yellow with some brown. They are softer 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/24 "2013-03-19T12:42:15Z")
Yellow with brown. There’s some sort of flavor component that a banana has when it’s in the stages before this that is really gross to me, and that flavor component only goes away after the yellow stage. Eating yellow-brown bananas is to be on the safe side and trust that the flavor component is completely gone. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/25 "2013-03-19T12:42:18Z")
I purchase them when they have at least some green on them. So hopefully when I eat them they will have just a little brown on them. But, no brown at all is better than a lot of brown! ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/26 "2013-03-19T18:14:17Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > The hand? I’ve never heard a bunch called that, but it really fits! > > StG [This](http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/going-bananas-in-brazil-ale_paiva-sxc.jpg) is a bunch of bananas. [This](http://j0035001.blogspot.com/2012/07/foods-that-look-like-body-parts-they.html) is a hand of bananas. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/27 "2013-03-19T18:27:30Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > [This](http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/going-bananas-in-brazil-ale_paiva-sxc.jpg) is a bunch of bananas. Six foot, seven foot, eight foot _bunch_! ---
**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:** [March 19, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/28 "2013-03-19T18:52:08Z")
Brown spots, the shine gone from the yellow, perfectly matched in tenderness and sweetness. The ideal window between too green and too ripe lasts for about 30 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/29 "2013-03-19T18:52:50Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I prefer them when they’ve just barely turned from green to yellow, while they’re still firm. YES…nothing else will do. Oh, I’ll still eat them, but I’ll look at them sadly every day. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/30 "2013-03-19T18:54:41Z")
Banana advice: Never make eye contact with someone whilst eating a banana. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/31 "2013-03-19T18:59:04Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Six foot, seven foot, eight foot _bunch_! Daylight come and me want go home. I like my bananas mashed up and baked into bread. Can’t eat 'em fresh. I like the flavor, but I simply can’t choke them down. Something about the texture makes me gag. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/32 "2013-03-19T19:01:54Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Daylight come and me want go home. > > I like my bananas mashed up and baked into bread. Can’t eat 'em fresh. I like the flavor, but I simply can’t choke them down. Something about the texture makes me gag. You should nibble instead of trying to cram the whole thing into your mouth. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/33 "2013-03-20T04:35:11Z")
A little to the green side, as the flavor has a little tang. I love me some tang. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/34 "2013-03-20T05:08:29Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Banana advice: Never make eye contact with someone whilst eating a banana. Tell that to my grandmother. I hate eating bananas that don’t have a bit of the brown speckle. I like mine with peanut butter. And I love 'em fried, especially rolled in cornflakes first. MMMMMMMMMMM. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/35 "2013-03-20T05:31:32Z")
The same as Goldilocks, I like my banana _just_ right, meaning yellow with no green or brown. (Although I don’t think I like “bananas” the same as Goldie, that sultry bitch.) ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/36 "2013-03-20T16:56:43Z")
I like my bananas still a little bit green; I find they get starchy and mushy once they get past that point. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/37 "2013-03-20T19:08:28Z")
All yellow. No green, no brown. Goldilocksian perfection. If it’s half green and half brown, though, you got problems. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/38 "2013-03-20T19:26:44Z")
No green, it turns my stomach. All yellow is fine but a bit meh. Once the brown starts showing up, though, you know it’s gonna be good. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/39 "2013-03-20T19:28:29Z")
Bananas for me have a very narrow range of acceptable ripeness; the joke at our house is that I have to eat them on the way home from the store. I like them with some green on them, firm of texture and bordering on chalky. As soon as they start to get sweet I don’t like them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304/40 "2013-03-20T19:41:35Z")
Crunchy. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-ripe-do-you-like-your-bananas/653304.md?page=3)