That's Bananas!

Do you have bananas going bad quicker than you can eat them?

Although it is tough to say what is the most wasteful fruits and vegetable individually, the majority of waste can be brought down to 7 fruits and vegetables as the most wasteful. These 7 items make up just about half of the produce that goes to waste, according to a 2017 Karlstad University study. The produce that made up the 7 were bananas, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet peppers, pears and grapes. The biggest offender of the group was bananas. We’ve all been there before, where you buy some bananas because you’re craving one, you have one and forget about the other 3. If you use our methods you can save the waste and have fun making it!

1. Banana Peel Oleo Saccharum

When eating a banana almost everyone throws out the peel. Some may put it in compost, which is another great alternative! We like to macerate the peels in granulated sugar for a couple of day before cooking it down to a delicious and fresh tasting syrup.

  • 2 banana peels

  • 1 pint of granulated sugar

  • 1 pot

  • 1 fine strainer or cheesecloth

    Cut the banana peels into 2 inch pieces. Add them to the bottom of the mason jar. Cover the peels in granulated sugar. Allow the bananas to macerate for 48 to 72 hours. After you’ve reached the time, add the ingredients to a pot and cook down until sugar is completely dissolved. Strain out peels using cheesecloth or fine strainer, allow mixture to cool, and bottle.

2. Sliced & Dehydrated 

What do you do if you’re going out of town for a couple of days but have some bananas that need eating?

Before your bananas get too ripe and soft you can slice them thin and dehydrate them at 153 degrees for 14 hours to get a nice crispy banana chip that has a much longer shelf life. You can flavor the bananas will some nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, or anything you’d like! 1 large mason jar

3. Banana Ice Cubes

What do I do if i missed the window of opportunity for the dehydrating?

Although you can’t make a chip any more, you can still utilize the banana and its nutrients. You can blend the banana up with some coconut water, freeze them in ice trays, and then blend them into cocktails! The ratio of coconut water to banana is done by weight, with an equal 1 to 1 ratio.

Tim Dam-Richards