The 1920s were yellow, not golden: Among the most popular desserts were ‘bananes créoles’, sugared Bananas browned in the oven and doused in Jamaican rum. And while Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd as well as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy overused the banana peel gag as Dick und Doof on the cinema screen, the banana was also a hit in musical terms: “ErCalcananana” was the German title of the American foxtrot song “Yes ! We Have No Bananas.

Even if the per capita consumption of the exotic Fruit was not as high as it is today, more than 100 years ago the banana was considered a guarantee of good mood. We now know that this is also due to their ingredients. Bananas contain tryptophan, among other things. The amino acid supports the formation of the messenger substance serotonin, also known as the happiness hormone.

Rich in magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6 – and sugar

Every German eats 11.6 kilograms of bananas, the equivalent of around 93 pieces, per year. The banana, of which there are more than 1000 known varieties, is considered to be the ideal nutrition for athletes on the one hand, and as a “fat maker” on the other. What’s behind it? “Like pears, apples, pineapples and nectarines, bananas are among the types of fruit with a high carbohydrate content,” explains Antje Gahl from the German Society for Nutrition (DGE). According to her, a banana with 125 grams of edible content contains around 115 kilocalories and 21 grams of sugar. In terms of calorie content, this corresponds to about 0.3 liters of cola. “If you want to reduce your sugar consumption, you should rather avoid sweet drinks and highly processed foods than bananas,” advises the nutritionist.

Compared to sugary drinks, bananas contain a lot of healthy nutrients, such as magnesium, potassium and vitamin B6. In addition, the banana protects against food cravings: Different types of sugar in the fruit such as glucose, fructose and sucrose are gradually metabolized in the body – the blood sugar level remains stable as a result. “There can be no talk of bananas as fattening foods. But of course, when it comes to consumption, it depends on the amount,” says Gahl.

Although green bananas taste less sweet than fully ripe, almost mushy specimens, the calorie content does not change with the ripeness of the fruit. It tastes sweeter because on the way from green to yellow in the banana, resistant starch becomes sugar. In fact, bananas are harvested green in their countries of origin in Central and South America. In this form they are stronger, less perishable and survive the ship transport to Europe almost unscathed.

Long journey, still cheap

Speaking of getting there: the CO2 footprint per kilogram of bananas is 0.6 CO2 equivalents. In comparison with regional and seasonal apples and strawberries, whose CO2 footprint is only half as large, the banana comes off worse – but better than, for example, apples from New Zealand with 0.8 CO2 equivalents per kilogram.

Although bananas travel halfway around the world before they arrive in Germany, they are not only the second favorite fruit of the Germans – they are also relatively inexpensive. There are historical reasons for this, among other things: Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was a banana advocate from the very beginning. In 1957 he pushed through the duty-free import of bananas from the European Economic Community.

At the Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, banana trees grow in the university’s own tropical house. Otherwise, the fruit is mainly grown near the equator. “Cultivation in Germany only makes sense for research purposes, since a lot of energy is required. Soil temperatures of 18 to 20 degrees and an air temperature of 20 degrees and above, preferably 25 to 30 degrees, are ideal,” explains university gardener Franz-Josef Kuhnigk.

You should pay attention to these seals

Among other things, the “Cavendish” variety, which is the most widespread and most frequently found in German supermarkets, also grows in the Tropenhaus in Kleve. Kuhnigk advises consumers to look for organic and fair trade seals when buying fruit.

The respective labels focus on different areas. Fairtrade seals take into account social and economic standards, for example the promotion and fair payment of smallholders. The organic seal, on the other hand, says something about agricultural practice, i.e. whether or not pesticides were used during harvesting.

In 2017, the magazine “Ökotest” tested the extent to which pesticide residues were found on bananas using twelve brands, including both organic bananas and conventionally produced fruit. It turned out that all conventionally grown bananas contained residues of pesticides, especially on the skin, but also in the edible part. In the organic bananas, on the other hand, only one sample contained pesticides that were above the organic orientation value.

That’s why banana peels are so slippery

While some recipes recommend using banana peel, it’s best not to include it on the plate. However, you shouldn’t throw them carelessly on the street. The slip potential of the banana peel has now even been officially proven: Japanese researchers discovered tiny bubbles on the inside of the fruit. If these burst, a smooth mixture is produced.

This makes the banana peel more slippery than the peels of apples or lemons, especially on linoleum or parquet – and four to five times more slippery than the leather soles of dancing shoes. The scientists have discovered that the angle of inclination of the leg when stepping also plays a role: if you can no longer avoid a slippery yellow obstacle, it is best to step on the banana pod as vertically as possible.