How to Eat a Banana

Step 1

1

Buy a ripe banana. for a banana that is yellow and lightly speckled with small brown or black spots. Some people prefer the firmer yellow-all-over stage; some prefer the softer, sweeter, stronger-flavored yellow-and-brownish stage.

If the banana is not ripe, you can leave it on a warm counter for a day or two.

Step 2

2

Peel the banana. Some people prefer to peel the entire thing and then eat it, while others peel as they go. There’s many ways to peel a banana. If you have not peeled one before, you might find one of these methods easy:

Peel the banana from the stem end. Snap back the stalk at the top of the fruit, then pull it downwards alongside the fruit. Pull the rest of the skin off in similar strips.

Peel the banana from the blossom end. This is the flat, brown stub at the end of the banana. Pinch just behind the blossom end to break it apart, then peel bits of it downward.

If you don’t want the whole banana at once, cut it in half before peeling. Cover the half you won’t be eating right away with plastic wrap, and store it in the fridge.

Step 3

3

Remove the “strings.” Bananas have fibrous strands between the skin and the fruit. These usually come off along with the peel, but sometimes they may stick to the fruit. Gently peel these off before eating the banana. They are not bad for you, but many people find them to have a bitter taste and odd texture.

Step 4

4

Eat the banana. You can eat the banana bite by bite, peeling a little bit of it as you go. You can also peel it all at once, slice it with a knife, and eat it with a fork. You can even use it in smoothies, dip it in chocolate and freeze it, fry it, or even grill it! Here are some ideas to get you started:

Add a sliced banana to cereal or oatmeal.

Drizzle some honey over banana slices for extra sweetness.

Make a peanut butter banana sandwich on whole wheat bread.

Cut a banana in half lengthwise, and fill it with peanut butter. Put the banana back together, and eat it like a sandwich.