Japanese Scientists Have Invented Edible Banana Peels

Make those bodies sing!


Article heading image for Japanese Scientists Have Invented Edible Banana Peels

Image: D&T Farm

As nature’s ready-to-go snack, bananas are about to get a whole lot more exciting with reports a Japanese company has created a special variety that lets you also eat the skin.

Setsuzo Tanaka has spent 40 years crafting the process of growing the Mongee banana – which translates to “amazing” in Japanese – and the skin apparently tastes much like a vegetable with the texture of lettuce, the ABC reports.

"Banana peel can contain vitamin B6 and magnesium and is rich in tryptophan and there is also potassium, polyphenol, but there are many water soluble vitamins, zinc in particular," he said.

According to the 68-year-old’s company D&T Farm, the time needed to grows the bananas is also much quicker than normal varieties, with a special “freeze-thaw awakening” method dropping production from two years to six months.

And while the Mongee bananas sell for an expensive $7 each at the moment, Mr Tanaka added he has global distribution plans in the pipeline.

He added: "I would like to disseminate bananas without agricultural chemicals to the world."

21 February 2018




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