Are you Team Fully Ripe or Team Half-Ripe?

Have you noticed that the bananas we buy seem to ripen so quickly? Most of the time, a banana that is half green and half yellow in the morning can turn completely yellow by the same night.

I’ve spoken to a few fruit sellers in KL who told me that calcium carbide is always used to speed up the ripening of bananas and other fruits such as papayas and mangoes. Calcium carbide is a ripening agent that has been banned or restricted for food use in many places because of safety concerns, yet it is widely used here. So, personally, I’d rather let my bananas ripen naturally whenever possible.

Anyway, coming back to my bananas. 😂

I actually prefer half-ripened bananas. They’re firmer, less sweet and I simply like the taste and texture more. Fully ripe bananas are just a little too sweet and mushy for me.

So whenever Dad comes home from the market with his usual half-ripened bananas, I’ll cut up a few and pop them into the freezer. ❄️🍌 This way, I can enjoy my half-ripened bananas throughout the week without them all becoming soft and overly sweet overnight.

Half-ripe bananas contain more resistant starch than fully ripe bananas.  Resistant starch acts somewhat like fibre and may support a gentler blood-sugar response, satiety and a healthy gut microbiome. Resistant starch passes through your small intestine undigested and reaches your colon, where gut bacteria ferment it into beneficial compounds.

And one more thing I do: I usually eat a few nuts before my banana.  The protein, fat and fibre in nuts can help slow down digestion and may help reduce the rise in blood sugar after eating carbohydrate. It’s a simple little trick I use when I want to enjoy my banana (or any carb) without sending my blood sugar soaring.

Which camp are you in — fully ripened, half-ripened or raw/green bananas? 🍌

The bananas in the middle have my preferred ripeness.