Why are the bananas so yucky lately?

I really dislike bananas, but I eat one every day because they are so nutritious, and are good for depression (increasing serotonin production in the brain). It's bad enough I have to choke them down when they are good and sweet, but lately the bananas are so nasty I practically gag while eating them.

The texture is like mush, even when they are still a little green (which is the way I prefer them) and by the time they have ripened my gosh it's like eating paste. Even cutting them up in cheerios, which is the way I usually eat them when they get too ripe, is making me gag.

Why are bananas so gross lately?

I don't know where you live, but where I am bananas are always the same. Just ripened with a little green.

Maybe you are storing them wrong? 

http://www.wikihow.com/Store-Bananas
 

Thanks, that was interesting to read, though I already knew the information. I buy and store them the same was I always have. I buy them as green as I can find them, because I don't like them when they become too ripe, and store them on the kitchen table, out of sunlight.

Even though I don't like them, still they have been okay to eat. It's just lately, the past couple of months, they have gotten very pasty in texture and taste, even when they are still slightly green. Nasty.

I am really having to force myself to eat them, even more than before I mean :lol3:. I won't not eat them, because the benefits are real, especially for helping with depression. But...bletch!

PS Refrigerating them, contrary to what that article says, and what other people have told me, makes them even more gross. Oh my gosh I really gagged the one time I tried following someone's advice about refrigerating them to slow down the ripening. Never again.

There was a book about the banana business out a few years ago, and it was fascinating.  Really.  Did you know that all bananas on sale at a given time are one species, and are all essentially clones?  The problem with that is that if any new disease comes along, it will wipe out the entire species and they have to start a new one.  It's happened at least twice already, if I recall correctly.  The current species, the Cavendish, replaced the previous species, the Gros Michel.

 

Mushy bananas make great banana bread. They are begging to be baked  .

No, it's not just the overripe ones that are mushy, it's ALL of them, even when they are still slightly green, which is the way I prefer to eat them. And I hate banana bread. I hate bananas! I hate anything that tastes like bananas! I eat them because they are good for me. I (literally :lol3 choke one down every day.

A banana a day (along with a spoonful of organic nothing added peanut butter, but NOT together) helps keep the anti-depressants away.

PS thanks to everyone for all the interesting facts. It is interesting to read about them, even though I hate them.

I was at Aldi and grabbed a nice yellow bunch to find MUSH  and all the others were the same way.  I am now buying them at Shoprite.  Funny you posted this as last night I made a chocolate milkshake and add my normal banana and no matter how long I left it in the mixer it would not blend all the way.  

If you do a search on irradiated bananas you'll find that irradiation is being used to delay the ripening process. Some people believe this could account for problems with taste and texture.

Other people say that, these days they are selling different kind of bananas from the kind they were selling a few years ago and that, this also has a lot to do with differences in taste and texture.

(We used to love bananas. Not buying them any more.)

Another thing this thread brought to mind. These days (an ongoing problem for quite a long time) most fresh raw tomatoes taste like saw dust. On a cooking show I happened to catch just the other day they explained that this problem comes from interference with the normal ripening process. Makes sense.

Organic produce is not supposed to be irradiated. I have no idea whether organic bananas would be a better choice. (We got so tired of throwing bananas away, we don't care any more.) Our supermarkets sell both regular and organic bananas, so, organic bananas are easy to find around here, no need to go to "Whole Paycheck" I mean Whole Foods, etc, to get some.

Thanks for the info Violet. My store does have organic bananas. They cost twice as much, but may be worth it, I'll try them next time.

I always assumed that when I got mushy bananas, it was because the grocery guys let them freeze outside.. .:lol3:. I guess now that it's warmer I can't excuse it that way, so I'll have to take notice of how my bananas are from now on.

I used to buy the organic bananas and I did think they tasted better. I might have to go back to them. I don't like bananas either (except roasted with brown sugar. . .yum) but they're fast, easy, healthy and cheap so I choke one down every morning anyway.

Thi sis a very interesting thread. I had noticed the difference in the taste also. I always loved bananas and have eaten them all my life. In recent months I decided they were different somehow and that I liked them almost green. Now I am having that same problem. I thought that my taste had just changed somehow.

We eat a lot of them in our house.  I haven't noticed anything different about ours.  I seem to be the only one!

Today I went back to one of the most treasured books our family has, to reread the information it has about irradiation. The book is still available at amazon.com. Title: Consumer Beware (by Beatrice Trum Hunter, copyright 1971)

I have to admit, I love this dear lady, she has a special place in my heart (when I did a search on her last year she was still alive) because one of her other books that has detailed information about carrageenan (Fact Book on Food Additives and Your Health, copyright 1972 - also still available at amazon.com) did not only save our first cat's life, but another kitty's life back in those days as well. Her desperate daddy was searching for answers to save their baby's life when their vet insisted the poor little thing had to be put to sleep......Long story short, it was only the carrageenan in the food and improvement was immediate when they switched to food without this awful ingredient.

Anyway.......in Consumer Beware there is some interesting information about irradiation. The part that would apply to this thread mentions that irradiated foods developed off flavors and off tastes and the scientists suspected these changes were caused by subtle changes in the chemical structure of the foods..........Fruits and vegetables lost their firmness.......etc......

I would urge anyone interested in more detailed information to get the book.

I've been reading (trying to find information) on problems with bananas, etc, online, for quite some time now. Not easy. Earlier today I found this and since cat related information is also included in the article, I thought it might be all right to post it.

http://foodirradiationwatch.org/2012/11/02/would-you-like-radiation-with-that-irradiated-tomatoes-a-toxic-treatment-of-a-beloved-fruit/

Would a book written in 1971 have any relevance now? I mean EVERYTHING in food production has changed since then.

And, I know a tons of foods imported to Australia are irradiated (that website is mainly geared toward Australian issues), but is food sold in the U.S. irradiated?

Ah, confusing.

ETA: irradiated food sold in the U.S. is required to have this cute little green symbol: http://www.attainable-sustainable.net/is-that-banana-irradiated/

Confusing? Not really. When you look up information related to irradiation - going back to when it started, etc - you'll get a better picture of everything.

For quite some time consumers believed foods were not going to be irradiated because of all the bad, disturbing findings (we've had many newspaper articles on that) and, even if they were, irradiated foods would be labeled. Well, if you look up current information on the subject you'll realize the old rules don't apply any more and labeling is no longer required.  Bananas are one good example of that. 

The FDA website (last updated 4-23-13) says they do need to label fresh foods (not multi-ingredient packaged foods): http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm261680.htm I mean, not that I trust the FDA particularly, but if they think it's so awesome you'd think they'd label it.

Yes, I know.  Actually, they say one thing and do the opposite. 

An article

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/about-our-products/food-safety/irradiation-us-and-canada

and a comment

I have never, ever seen the sign showing a food has been irradiated, ever. Yet, such foods are being sold.

Even that article says that fresh foods that have been irradiated are required to be labeled (in small print, maybe, but still). . .

Well, they are not.

The only thing one can find out from looking at a bunch of bananas and the PLU code on their label for example is whether they are organic or not.  But that's all.  However, since organic produce cannot be irradiated, that PLU code is extremely important information. 

If you go online you can find out which fruits and vegetables are irradiated, how much is used and why, etc. Detailed information available.

I can't find the detailed information. I might be Googling the wrong thing. Any links?