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I learned something pretty amazing recently: banana peels are edible.
Say what?
Yeah, I know, right? There is even a banana peel appreciation society Facebook group.
Banana peels may be edible but would you want to eat one? Absolutely! This pulled “pork” recipe is the perfect introduction to banana peels. We made our own coleslaw too. Here is what our version looked like:
But what did it taste like? With all the barbecue sauce and spice it tasted like that, not like a banana or a peel. It’s about the texture when it comes down to it. It definitely has a chewy/meaty mouth feel. James and I each had a sandwich and there were leftovers but not enough for two more sandwiches so we repurposed it, blending it into a spicy lentil sloppy Joe kind of thing. And that was good too.
Allegedly you can use banana peels for any recipe that calls for jackfruit. And of course you can sub the peels for things like shredded beef or pork. I am not sure I will be eating banana peels on a regular basis, but they are a good option to have for the dinner menu.
There is a banana peel bacon recipe we are eager to try. I’ll let you know how that goes when we make it.
I would have NEVER thought. But hey- there’s a pulled pork recipe my family really likes Wouldn’t it be funny if I used the same sauce and made this banana peel one
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Hahahaha Jeane! That would be amazing if you subbed banana peels in your family’s pulled pork recipe! If you do it, you have to let me know what happens 🙂
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That is a creative dish to make! Barbecue sauce does tend to dominate flavor so I can see how it would prevent banana flavor from comming through. I am curious how the banana bacon will come out.
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Brian Joseph, the banana bacon came out great. We over crisped it a little, but we got the smokey-salty-maple flavor just right. 🙂
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I am always so snowed by the innovative recipes you share…we Indians practically eat every part of the vegetable/fruit; but banana peels is a first for me! Way to go Stefanie!
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LOL cirtnecce! I was not such an adventurous eater when I was young but these days I find it fun to try new things, especially something as crazy as banana peels!
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Whaaaaat? I lived in Asia and ate my fair share of weird stuff (eating, not cooking myself) but that tops it all. I don’t know if I have the courage to try it.
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Smithereens, we knew it would either be good or a disaster and it turned out to be good! No courage needed, give it a try sometime. The banana peel bacon came out great too 🙂
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Well after World War 2 a lot of people here chomped into the skin of their first ever banana as they thought the skin would be edible, as apple skin is. Of course exotic fruit hadn’t been seen in the UK for years. Waste not want not – I’ll give it a go!
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Hahaha Pining, if you have never seen a banana before chomping into a peel like that would be a surprise. Cooking them though is another matter 🙂
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I agree with the others… I also would have never thought! Some people are allergic to the peels, as am I, but I wonder if cooking them solves that problem. And the sloppy joes sound delicious
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Hmm Dorothea, not sure if cooking would solve an allergy to peels problem. I guess it depends on the nature of the allergy and how sensitive you are.
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Er – no thanks!
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C’mon Wonderer! You are such an adventurer, you might be surprised 🙂
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Wow – mind blown! Thanks for telling us this, I had no clue.
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I know Laila! When I found out I was floored. Had to try it, and it turned out to actually be good! The banana peel bacon is good too 🙂
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Actually immediately after I read your post, I saw like three recipes that called for banana peel in various forms (including ground up and included in muffins!) Interesting.
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Ha! Now you will see recipes everywhere! We made “bacon” and it came out pretty good, though we over crisped it. It is going to take some practice to get the whole banana peel thing just right.
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That’s so interesting. I haven’t tried them, but I will take a look. I can see where the texture would be very chewy! We don’t eat anywhere near as many bananas in our family now, as I did when I was growing up, but it would be great to use the peels instead of composting them.
Even though I know that they don’t appear on the Dirty Dozen list, I think it’s important to support organic banana growers. The cancer rates and social implications for workers on commercial/industrial banana plantations brought the serious issues faced by growers and tenders to the forefront of many consumers’ minds decades ago (back when people first started thinking about this over grapes), and the chemical usage has remained consistent on commercial plantations (and, yes, these substances are absorbed into the fruit itself, but are obviously concentrated on the skin itself). So if health matters, this is something to keep in mind.
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Buried in Print, yes! Most definitely, if you are going to eat banana peels use organic bananas and give the peel a good scrub before removing it from the banana. We already have enough pesticides and chemicals in our bodies, we don’t need to add to that. We made the bacon and it came out pretty good. A bit of work involved but fun for something a little different.
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Wow. Really Didn’t know this at all.
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I really don’t like bananas – at least not fresh bananas, and I hate handling them – but I’d consider giving the banana bacon a go. I’ll go look at the recipe.
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