That's a new one on me. Never heard of anyone eating banana peel. Doesn't exactly tickle my taste buds.

All the rage in the States, just being talked about here, link below talks about all kinds of peels and piths (which my grandfather told me never to eat!) Certainly, the polyphenols in apples are largely present in the skin, so if you don't eat/cook that, you're throwing away the most valuable part. Banana peels have been used in mexico to make a cake for years... I'm not at all sure I fancy a banana skin, though maybe there's a way of preparing it that might make it palatable without losing the nutrients

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/20416897

Seems like another fad to me though, like goji berries and 'superfoods' and the like were in the last few years... and to be honest, I'd be more concerned about certain residues present on the banana skin which might not be that easy to wash off...

The worms in my compost bin love banana peels so I use it that way.

That's what I used to do with mine when I had room for a compost heap - it gets recycled back into the soil that way.

My dad made banana wine once.....including the skins, it was yuk.....well double yuk.....the smell was awful!?
his parsnip was strong though ?made your eyes water

They're good in banana milkshake - you need a decent blender though that will completely pulverise the peel, otherwise it can be a bit stringy. Best used when they're starting to get a little bit over-ripe (ie brown spots rather than all yellow) And only use certified organic so that you're not taking in the cocktail of chemicals used to spray commercially grown bananas.
It may be they taste better in other countries because they're ripened more naturally.

Yuk, over ripe bananas, skin or otherwise, can't stand 'em, nor cooked banana either. I like 'em when the skin's pale yellow only... so I imagine that skin will be very tough and thick if you tried to use it in cooking or a smoothie...

Thanks for your comments. I think I'll risk the milkshake first, I've seen a recipe and have a good immersion blender. All I need now are the skins. if and when I do it I'll report back and let you know.

Oooh yes, do Hank, I'm keen to know what it was like!

And if you don't report back, Hank, we will know that the experiment was rather fatal!

Well whatever the 'experts' say I wouldn't eat a banana skin - even if it was off an organic banana!

The milkshake is a whole banana, Hank, not just skins.
1 banana including skin
1 cup cold milk
1/2 cup ice cubes
A couple of drops of vanilla if you have it in the house

Swoosh it all in a blender and add a dollop of iceceam.

?.....

Thanks U, i nearly boobed there. So have you made some ?

I've eaten a mouthful of raw banana skin when I was under 10. gave me tummy ache apparently. I don't remember it but the family do.

If i hadn't tried it I wouldn't know how it tasted. I no longer have a suitable blender though - and not worth buying one for the sake of an occasional milkshake.

If you want to enjoy a delicious after dinner banana drink, try a "Dirty Monkey."

Ingredients

Ice cubes
1.5 oz of Vodka
½ fresh banana
2 oz cream
1 oz Coffee liqueur
1 oz Coconut cream (non-alcohol)
Hershey’s Chocolate syrup
Mix all ingredients except the chocolate syrup together in a blender until it get frothy. Decorate your favorite glass with the chocolate syrup and pour the mix into the glass. Garnish with a piece of pineapple or your favorite tropical fruit. Enjoy!

It's an old fashion drink but still very nice.

Well it sounds lovely - except I can't stand alcohol, other than the odd dry martini heavily diluted with lots of lemonade... or a similarly diluted and fruit filled Pimms in the summer...

You can't stand alcohol except for martinis or something similar? :)

Only one drink and only once or twice a year, Bathgate - I really don't like the taste of alcohol unless its heavily diluted with something very sweet, that's what I'm trying to get across, so a very long, tall glass with less than a quarter inch of alcohol, the rest lemonade or whatever. I don't even like alcohol laced desserts, though I've got better, more tolerant of the taste, with good Christmas pudding... But sometimes you just have to have a drink to be polite...

I'm not crazy about alcoholic drinks either, but occasionally it's OK.

Tea, on the other hand, I drink gallons of! Its a standing joke when I go anywhere where people are drinking, they're always saying I suppose you just want a cup of tea - and they're right!

I'm bananas about bananas and anything with bananas in it.

I'm with you Bamboo, I hate alcohol, dont like the taste. But love my cups of tea. Im quite a connoisseur of tea lol

Ha ha Nellie, I couldn't cope without my Sainsbury's Earl Grey - but I do think I should cut it down, anything in excess can't be good for a person...

Don't do it quickly Bamboo......you'll get withdrawal symptoms. .....alcohol doesn't like me these days......
.and a martini in the States is a completly different animal that I think Bamboo's talking about 'hic?

Oh, is it, Pam - I'm talking about dry martini sold in a bottle, not one you make up in a cocktail shaker... as for the tea, I wasn't thinking of giving it up, just cutting it back - 10 mugfuls a day is probably well over what's sensible!

10 mugs of tea will make me pee til sunday. I do however enjoy a well made cocktail on occasion.

I have just seen that one banana has twice the calories of a double whisky. I will keep to my diet.

Thank goodness I never had to worry about calories

Hmm, I wonder how many calories are in the skin - calorie counts for banana are only for the flesh inside!

I guess it depends if it's a big banana or those little ones on the end. Does it really matter? It's a super food.

Martini ( British ) is a refreshing drink with lemonade
on my first visit to the States many years ago I asked for a dry martini ( expecting my normal drink )
coo.....it made my eyed pop ?.........they'd not heard of lemonade so I settled for something called "bubble up!" to dilute it!

I find bananas give me indigestion ?

Yea, superfood, Bathgate - also radioactive... but I eat one a day for breakfast, regardless of size and calories...

I had a banana after lunch today, then I gave the peel a good scrubbing and took a few bites. It wasn't awful and chewed easily but it wasn't nice either.
I may try out one of the recipes I have next, and I actually quite fancy the banana peel etc chutney.