# Which end to you peel an bannana from? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 25, 2005, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860 "2005-02-25T13:13:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/21 "2005-02-26T00:51:12Z")
Wait. You’re supposed to _peel_ bananas? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/22 "2005-02-26T02:30:12Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > Wait. You’re supposed to _peel_ bananas? > :smack: No cite but I remember reading that when they were first discovered by Europeans, they didn’t realize they needed peeling either. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/23 "2005-02-26T02:42:46Z")
Stem, down. The only time the top gets mushed is if the banana is starting to turn brown. ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/24 "2005-02-26T05:08:24Z")
It depends. I give it a tug from the stub end and if it looks like it won’t open easily (happens in the case of overripe bananas), I use the stem end. Once in a while, both ends will refuse to open easily in which case I bring out the knife. In short, this is the unique optimal solution and with this knowledge, this thread becomes a pointless exercise. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/25 "2005-02-26T11:43:56Z")
i have a friend from Bulgaria and she and her brother both eat it from the rounded end, towards the stem end. I tried it that way and it was a little tougher to gt it started, but it peeled fine, and you had this little handle to hold it with. You just have to remember to lop off the litle black thing that you see first instead of last. Miraculously it still tasted the same! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/26 "2005-02-26T13:41:45Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This sort of thing never happens as an isolated incident; did you check her references when she entered your employment? But of course I checked! Turns out she was not entirely forthright in regards to her experience with fruit, however. She’ll ne’er get a reference from me. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/27 "2005-02-26T13:55:50Z")
I’m a little perplexed by this “handle” notion. Why do bananas need a handle, exactly? If you peel it as you go, the still unpeeled portion of the banana is its own handle. But the time you get to the last (questionably edible) bit at the rounded end, you no longer need a handle, you need a trash bin. But, in the interest of Doper Foodology, I will try peeling it from the rounded end next time I have a banana. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/28 "2005-02-26T17:11:57Z")
Just had a thought - in most cartoons, when someone is about to slip on a bannana skin, the stalk is always shown sticking up in the middle of the bannana, implying that in cartoons, they open the round end first. On the other hand, Litost sometimes does it both ways and, accordingly, the thread is now pointless. Thanks for your contribution Litost. Miss the point much? As a general note, i am interested how different countries do this, so maybe should find a mb which has a more diverse range of nationalities posting to it ! Thanks for your input though. Sin ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/29 "2005-02-26T17:20:14Z")
> [@sinical brit](#): > > On the other hand, Litost sometimes does it both ways and, accordingly, the thread is now pointless. Thanks for your contribution Litost. Miss the point much? > > Sin Right back at you… lighten up, I was being flippant. ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/30 "2005-02-26T17:40:03Z")
Flipancy missed. Appols. Sin ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/31 "2005-02-26T18:43:38Z")
I’m another one who has always opened the things from the stem, not the rounded end. Hmm. Something new to try next time … ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/32 "2005-02-26T19:47:36Z")
In the interests of science, I just ate a banana and peeled it from the blunt end, something I have never done before. Despite the stem giving a convenient handle for the banana, once I had peeled almost all the way back to the stem and was on my last few bites, my banana fell out. Since peeling bananas backwards seems to lead to fruit loss, I’ll go back to the old way. Excuse me while I throw the peel on the sidewalk in front of an unsuspecting cartoon character. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/33 "2005-02-27T00:47:41Z")
1. Place bananas in window for 2-4 days where sunlight can hit them. You call that ripe?? Visigoth !! 😃 2. Take speckled wonderful banana oozing sugary scent and banana-y bouquet and place onto granite cutting board. 3. Using incredibly sharp German knife that was a wedding present, cut off dried off tippy-tip of stem. It wrecks the presentation. 4. Starting 1/4- 1/2 inch below the stem, slice banana into slices that are no more than 3/4 inch- 1 inch long. Take care to make sure the slices are deeply on a diagonal. 5. Insure that last slice includes the _denoument_, that lovely blunted afterthought that sometimes defines an excellent banana. 6. Arrange on black stoneware plate in a triangular pattern. Drizzle liquified chocolate in horizontal lines back and forth, taking care not to gush on any one spot. 7. Garnish along the edge with the center-cut thick slice from a strawberry. 🙂 Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/34 "2005-02-27T01:27:38Z")
No-one should have to put up with fruit loss, Antigen - but i appreciate your time on this. Over-enthusiastic peeling can all to easily lead to spillage, and consequentialy - vitamin loss. Maybe the little black bit ( which would be at the bottom during a traditional peel ) acts as some sort of fruit based ‘anchor’ ? Sin ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/35 "2005-02-27T01:28:29Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > I’ve only seen bananas eaten from the stem end on down…Until I saw my co worker from China. She used the stem as a “handle.” > Much delightful cross cultural discussion occured. > She never considered the other way and I never considered her way. > She now eats them from the stem down… > BTW I’m midwest USA. from the stem down… To what? There is no stalk below the stem end. 😉 When I pick one up with my left hand I peel away from the other end and eat the inside pulp. What difference does it make as to which end you eat first? Never gave it a thought before reading your post. Now I’ll be awake all night trying to figure out which end I should peel and eat first! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860/36 "2005-02-27T12:29:42Z")
One tends to want to save the sweetest for last, and well… the sugah settles down to the smooth bottom of the meat of the fruit, so if it were I, I’d start at the stem and slowly savor each tender mouthful until finishing off at the beautifully sweet smooth bottom. Of the banana. Excuse me. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-end-to-you-peel-an-bannana-from/291860.md?page=1)