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.
Stem, down.
The only time the top gets mushed is if the banana is starting to turn brown.
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.
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!
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. 
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. 
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
Right back at you… lighten up, I was being flippant.
Flipancy missed.
Appols.
Sin
I’m another one who has always opened the things from the stem, not the rounded end. Hmm. Something new to try next time …
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.
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Place bananas in window for 2-4 days where sunlight can hit them. You call that ripe?? Visigoth !!
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Take speckled wonderful banana oozing sugary scent and banana-y bouquet and place onto granite cutting board.
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Using incredibly sharp German knife that was a wedding present, cut off dried off tippy-tip of stem. It wrecks the presentation.
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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.
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Insure that last slice includes the denoument, that lovely blunted afterthought that sometimes defines an excellent banana.
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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.
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Garnish along the edge with the center-cut thick slice from a strawberry.
Cartooniverse
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
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:
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.