Bananas are delicate and delicious tropical fruits. They are loved by adults and children. And with the advent of bananas on the market, mothers began to have much less headaches about what to offer to a snack for a baby under the age of one year. These fruits do not need to be chopped in a blender, just knead with a fork - and a delicious afternoon snack is ready. But didn’t you have any doubts about how bananas are processed and why they can withstand such a long road? Let's try to find out today.
Affordable treat
It can be argued that today it is possible to carry out the careful and quick transportation of fruits through air transportation. So, ripe mango and the freshest seafood that were caught only this morning gets to our table. All this is true, but compare the prices of mangoes or king prawns and ordinary bananas. It is logical to assume that they are brought not at all piece by piece, taking care of each fruit individually. Therefore, the question arises: "What are bananas processed with?" People worry about their health and want to know how this substance can affect it. Moreover, most often consumers are children.
Transportation difficulties
At first glance, these fruits are protected by a dense peel, due to which they should easily endure transportation. But this is not so. As it ripens, the peel begins to open slightly, exposing the tender flesh. Therefore, they can be transported only at temperatures not exceeding +14 ° C, and only immature. This ensures that the buyer will receive their fruit safe and sound, in good commercial condition. Rumpled fruits with black spots and cracks in the peel no longer cause appetite. Of course, some housewives take such fruits for baking, but this is more likely the processing of spoiled products.
Green bananas
More recently, a question has arisen in society about what bananas are processed. In Soviet times, it was difficult to find them on sale (except in the capital), but they were always green. Of course, they looked more like grass and were of no value to the buyer. But some housewives learned to bring them to ripeness. To do this, you had to take a paper bag, place bananas slightly sprinkled with water in it, as well as several ripe red apples. The bag was tightly sealed and left for a day or two. The temperature should have been room temperature.
Now you will not find green bananas on sale. But then, in the conditions of a shortage of goods, they were happy to buy them and tried to bring them “to condition” to the best of their domestic abilities. The question of what bananas are processed to bring them to the buyer did not arise at all.
Which bananas are better to eat
On the market today, you can find mouth-watering, ripe, yellow fruits. They are beautiful, presentable and delicious. The best option for serving. There are fruits of a very light color, with green spots. They are hard and less sweet. There is a third option. Yellow, soft, with numerous brown and black dots.
What are bananas processed during transportation? For this, they use special antibiotics that allow them to travel without loss. Typically, the box inside is lined with paper impregnated with a special preparation called sodium pyrosulfate. After that, they go through aeration and go on sale. But this does not guarantee long-term preservation. If the fruits are not realized in the near future, the beautiful yellow peel will turn black.
What are the best fruits to choose? If the banana is green, then due to the excess of starchy substances, it is practically not digested in the intestine. This threatens with severe gas formation. In this regard, slightly overripe and darkened fruit will cause less problems. But buying a completely black banana is not recommended.
Toxic gases
Quite often you can find such information: "Do not buy overseas fruits, you can poison your children." All such articles cite the fact that bananas are processed by gas. However, there is no evidence of what this gas is. It is only said that it is toxic and extremely harmful to your health. It can be assumed that an unscrupulous supplier fumigates the fruit with some kind of super-effective compound in order to prevent spoilage and give a beautiful appearance. But all large companies use a cheap and well-known mixture.
Banana Gas
It is under this name that he is widely known to an interested audience. In the conditions of fierce competition, every manufacturer and supplier wants to offer their customers only the best. On the one hand, for this, bananas can be placed in the warehouse and give them a little time. But time is money. Therefore, the product quickly becomes unprofitable. In addition, during ripening, many fruits can begin to deteriorate, because this process is uneven.
Therefore, the fruits are placed in special gas chambers, where they uniformly turn yellow and acquire a presentation. What gas is bananas treated with? This is a special and well-studied mixture that is considered safe for human health. In fact, this is an analogue of the gas that is released by fruits during natural ripening. But it cannot be denied that the taste of fruits ripened on a palm tree, and those that have passed the gas chamber, will be very different.
Gas composition
We come close to the answer to the question of what bananas are processed for ripening. Indeed, gas is used for this purpose. Bananas are always cut still green, otherwise they will disappear. Then they are transported on special vessels - refrigerators. There, the temperature is maintained within +12 ... + 14 ° . After that, the fruits are placed in gas chambers and for a day banana gas is launched there. It consists of 95% nitrogen and 5% ethylene.
The substance triggers the mechanism of rapid ripening of fruits. During the day they will become yellow and beautiful. Of course, this also affects the taste of the fruit. Before this procedure, they are grassy, and after processing they become sweet. Banana gas is edible, it is absolutely harmless to health. The air we breathe is made up of nitrogen. And ethylene gas is released during the ripening of apples. But this does not exclude the need to wash the fruits before eating.
Instead of a conclusion
The last question remained: "What is the processing of bananas for storage?" There are many opinions on this matter, but manufacturers and major suppliers of fruits claim that no special formulations that prevent rotting are applied to fruits. Yes, packaging of boxes during transportation is impregnated with antibiotic. After entering the point of sale, the packaging is removed, after which the fruits are exposed to bacteria and microorganisms. This we see on store shelves. If the fruit is a little stale, they become covered with black spots and become very soft. If the process has not gone too far, then this does not affect the taste of bananas. But do not forget to wash them well with soap before peeling.