So there's a banana with an edible peel now, if you were keen for that
Banana fiends, this could be a-peel-ing to you.
A Japanese company has developed and begun selling a banana with an edible skin, dubbed the Mongee (pronounced "mon-gay").
Developed by D&T Farms, the creation started out as a "hobby" for the company's technical development manager Setsuzo Tanaka, according to a D&T spokesperson who spoke to the NY Post.
The secret to the edible skin comes from growing the banana trees in a minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit (-59 degrees Celsius) environment, then is thawed and replanted. It means the fruit grows rapidly and leaves the skin with a "lettuce" like texture.
D&T claims on its website the peel is an excellent source of vitamin B6, magnesium, and tryptophan, the latter being a precursor to serotonin. OK, but what's with the taste?
According to reporters from RocketNews24, who tried the product, it turns out there's "little flavour" to the skin. But the flesh itself has a stronger tropical taste to it, which is almost "pineapple-like."
There's also another caveat: You'll have to wait until the banana ripens properly, which in the case of the Mongee means the peel needs to have those little brown dots on it.
Oh and another thing, they're kinda expensive and rare. One banana costs about $5.75, and the only store that stocks it, Tenmanya Okayama, gets a Mongee shipment of 10 a week.
Guess it's alright if you don't mind being skinned.
