I tend to agree with this article in the British Medical Journal from 1904 - quote - "Before they are thoroughly matured, moreover, they are apt to be insipid in flavour, and to cause dyspepsia and other forms of intestinal disturbance. They should not be eaten before the skin is blackened in places, or when there is any reluctance in the skin to separate from the pulp."

I tend to leave bananas in a storage unit for a few days before eating them. They need to have gone a mottled brown, then I know that the flesh will be sweet and tender. If kept near apples they tend to ripen faster.

Yet I often see them being eaten when still totally yellow - when they are at their blandest. Why do people do that?

I leave them till they're spotty before I'll think about eating them - sometimes leave them till they're totally black

do the same with plums - leave them till they've all squishy and can suck them to bits

I'm not a big fan of bananas, but when I eat them, I like them to be fairly yellow. I don't like too many spots on them because I don't like the texture if they are too soft. However, if they are too soft, I'll use them in smoothies.

When I was a youngster there was a little trick that you could play with a banana. It's a bit hard to describe, but you took a needle and thread, pushed it through the banana so that it came out further around, pushed it back into the banana through the exit hole so that it came out further around and so on until you reached the original hole. You then took hold of both ends of the thread and pulled it though the banana which cut it in half whilst seemingly leaving it intact. Of course, when the victim peeled the banana . . . God, we were easily amused in those days.

I prefer them when they are still yellowy and not going spotty, they taste much nicer this way and don't have that powdery tasteless taste they get then they start getting spots etc.

same here, I really don't like over-ripe bananas...they're too soft and the taste is different.

I actually prefer banana flavouring rather than real bananas.

Yellow and firm, don't like them when they're going black

I think yellow bananas are sort of squeaky on your teeth, which I think is quite nasty. They don't taste of anything much when they're yellow, anyway.
Spotty bananas are my preference.

I like them when they've just turned yellow. If there is any bruising on them, I'll cut it off.

I also don't eat the very end of the banana either. I still remember being told that bit was poisonous when I was little, so I've stuck with throwing the last half inch away ever since!

I like them mushy. Fresh bananas are vile.

Yellow without brown spots in our house, for three out of four of us.

Once they ripen they are so sweet they are revolting, none of the three of us like them.

Hence hubby eats a LOT of bananas, either with ice cream or in a sandwich with jam. I don't know how he can.


LH

I only ever eat them whent they are on the turn from green to yellow - and still hard

Firm, yellow and cold from the fridge. Keeping them in the fridge does make the skin go black quicker, but as long as the flesh inside is still yellow and firm I'm happy.

I like mine when they have quite a few spots on them but still yellow. I can't eat them when the whole of the skin goes black though.

Green and boiled! Lovely!

I like mine practically green. Firm - i hate when they go squishy and brown.

Bent......

I must phone Brussels and ask them to put a stop to that.

Green and hard.

I like them firm, still slightly green. They feel colder to the taste when like this. I cant stand cooked, warm banana desserts - horrible mushy texture.

I'm quite partial to a banana fritter with syrup and ice cream when I have a Chinese meal

In a cake

I like mine left firmly on the greengrocer's shelf. I used to eat them a lot about 10 years ago, but completely went off them, and have no desire ever to eat another one. Unless perhaps it was one of the very small, sweet ones you get in Asia.

i'm sure i've had one with bacon at some point.
it wasnt bad actually, confusing taste though!
south african delecasy (sorry about speling!) from what i've heard