Bananas, ripeness and appearance: Surprise reason bananas may not be tasting ‘right’ at the moment | Supermarket Sleuths

Some Aussie shoppers have reported a major problem with supermarket bananas: many bananas appear ripe, but once peeled they are anything but

The the most popular fruit in the countryt – which can usually be relied on to maintain a consistent taste regardless of the customer’s desired peeling phase – is now proving to be a bull’s-eye.

While this can remain mature banana eaters disappointedYounger fruit lovers, namely toddlers, may avoid fruit altogether once they bite into a “bad” fruit.

Anton van den Berg from Harvest Hub explained why bananas seem to be undersized at this time of year.

“As the weather cools, bananas will take on a dull appearance instead of bright yellow. This usually happens from May to September,” he told nine.com.au.

“However, this does not affect their eating quality.

“We always notice that when we get fruit from Coffs Harbour: it takes four to six weeks longer, but it’s super sweet (but also cosmetically challenged).”

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He said some Queensland bananas, grown in even cooler conditions on the Atherton Plateau, could pose further cosmetic problems.

Western Australian sellers have also faced further challenges to their banana supply due to the devastation wrought by ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle in the Carnavon region – which supplies roughly 80 percent of the state’s banana supply – in April.

However, the impact of this was only felt locally

“They’re mainly going to Perth, I believe. Given the high cost of transport these days, I doubt many – if any – will find their way to the east coast, which is already well supplied by Northern QLD and Coffs Harbour.”

A Coles spokesperson confirmed: “We are currently seeing no impact on banana quality or supply due to recent weather events, including Cyclone Narelle.”

It’s the cooler conditions that cause confusion among banana lovers, and bananas that have spent too much time in the cold can even develop a black appearance before they have a chance to ripen.

These unusual conditions have made the useful ‘ripeness’ charts displayed at most supermarkets inaccurate.

The general advice to avoid disappointment with bananas is to let the fruit ripen an extra day or two before you would normally peel them. At this time of year you cannot go out alone, Van den Berg explains.

“In fact, bananas that take a little longer to ripen tend to have a fuller and sweeter flavor than bananas that grow faster.”

For parents of toddlers who bit into a less-than-ideal banana during this time and may now refuse to eat it again, child nutritionist Mandy Sacher suggests taking a break from it altogether.

“Children crave predictability and control,” says Sacher, author of Club for no-nonsense eaterstold nine.com.au.

“The reason babies and toddlers like pureed foods is that they get the same taste every day.

“Also, their sensory systems are developing so quickly and some children are much more sensitive to those changes.”

She said that if a child rejects a banana, “don’t make a fuss about it” – you can reintroduce it later, and then you can try reintroducing it in different ways.

“For example, it can be frozen and then dipped in honey,” Sacher said.