curious george

hello everyone. my brother is bananas about bananas. he eats the whole thing ( peel and all). i was wondering if that is ok or if should he not be eating the peels. are they just unpleasant (in my opinion) or actually inedible? any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

JoeReal

banana peels are edible, even though they are very unpleasant and very "ropey" to eat.

For the cooking types, we can harvest them while green, then slice them or dice them off without taking the peels, and use them as vegetables in various recipes. The green provides added vitamins and flavors when cooked.

So they're really edible.

I've also made wine from banana peels, and the wine, although has more of a grassy smell, has the astringency similar to grape wine.

You can surely make vinegar out of banana peels, that I have done more than 30 years ago.

Tangy

They may be edible but I would worry about pesticides or other chemicals. Obviously if you grow them yourself this is not an issue.

Gabe15

my first thought is what tangy was thinking. if you grow them yourself they are fine, but after all the chemicals and sprays and shipping and handling of commercial bananas, i would not want those in my mouth!

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

JoeReal

That's right, not even the flesh inside of commercial bananas. Chemicals readily diffuse from the skin to the flesh, don't eat commercial bananas at all!

shopgirl2

I would not eat them because of the chemicals they are sprayed with. However, they are WONDERFUL FOOD Roses! In addition, my grandmother would use the peelings for fertilizer for the banana trees. They are rich in Calcium and bananas provide it as well.

My grandmother had coffee farms as well as bananas. They would turn the bananas over using it as a source of food for the new banana plantings as well as the older ones.

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Orinoco by the sunlight.

bencelest

Shopgirl:
Do you mean that your grandmother use the p-stem as mulch for the new bananas?

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Banana Nut

aupoet

I don't know about how they taste but my chickens love banana peals. I have to tear them into small pieces so they won't choke.

musaboru

I amazed at how someone can eat a banana peel. I guess to each their own.

I use them as mulch too for my potted plants. I cut them up after eating them and throw them in the pot and let them disintegrate. I'm sure it makes good fertilizer somehow.

ewitte

There is a joke in there somewhere...

Richard

The following information has been added to Info:Fertilizer - Bananas Wiki


*Banana Peel: 0-3-42. Has a high percentage of Potash and no Nitrogen. An average store bought banana has a dried peel weight of about 8 grams, so the net amount of potassium per peel is about 3 1/3 grams. To acheive net 1.5 pounds of potassium per year for a maturing banana plant, you will need about 200 of those peels. To be a meaningful supplement potted ornamental flowers, you'll need about 20 per month.

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Patty in Wisc

Originally Posted by aupoet
"I don't know about how they taste but my chickens love banana peals. I have to tear them into small pieces so they won't choke."

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Patty




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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.