How to peel a banana

For years, I have secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) been annoyed by the way people open their bananas. I would watch people do it the wrong way and I would cringe at their sloppy ignorance because, obviously, my way was the right way. After all, my way didn’t squish the banana’s yummy flesh.

Then one day, I finally had enough of seeing people doing it wrong and took to the World Wide Web to see if I could find others who opened their bananas as I did. You know, the right way.

What I learned, however, was that I was opening my bananas the wrong way, too. (Though not as wrong as those other people!)

You see, the irritating way that others open their bananas is to just rip apart the skin from the stem-end using brut force, in a manner that squishes the fruit. My (old) way was to make a small incision in the stem with my thumbnail then gently peel back the outer casing to reveal an un-squished banana. Generally, there would be 3-5 strips of peel at the end of the process.

But now, thanks to Google and Lifehacker, I know that this is how you open a banana:

Isn’t that crazy!? It is such a simple little trick and I’ve managed to live for nearly 40 years without knowing this. It’s easier. It’s faster. And it means that I can get rid of that little black stemmy-thingy at the end more easily – and without losing a bite of banana as I did when opening a banana the other way. Oh! And there seem to be less of those stringy things this way.

Now, go and grab a banana and give it a try. I’m sure you’ll be impressed with this new bit of knowledge. (Or am I just weird?)

2 Replies to “How to peel a banana”

  1. I had heard previously that opening it “backwards” would give you less of the stringy things, but I had never seen how much easier it made it to peel a banana! Which will come in handy to teach my son who still struggles with the “wrong way” to get one open…thanks for sharing 🙂

    1. I’m here to help! 🙂 Be sure to let me know if he finds it easier. I can’t believe I’m only just learning this trick. I eat at least one banana every day, and now I smile every time I open one. Simple joys!!

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