What is a Banana?

Have you ever wondered what bananas really are? Read this article to find out!

Bananas aren’t a fruit, they are actually herbs! The herbs that they grow from are like palm trees. The plants are classified as herbs because they don’t have a strong woody stem. The bananas will start to appear after 12-18 months. Bananas grow in layers in a large bunch. A layer of bananas is called a hand and each individual banana is called a finger. There can be 8-12 hands per bunch and 12-16 in every hand. The average banana weighs about 125 grams and contains about 75% water. The average bunch of bananas weighs 40 kilos. Bananas are harvested when they are green, before the stage of ripening in order to prevent damage during harvest.

Some varieties of banana include:

• Cavendish Williams Bananas(most common in AUS)

• Lady Finger(about 15cm long)

• Gold Finger(doesn’t brown when cut)

• Red types or Red Dacca(desert type bananas)

• Plantain(generally used in Asian cooking and is green)

How bananas get to YOU: