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It is important to remember that as opposed to many other plant bananas do not ripen satisfactorily on the plant but can be ripened to optimum quality off the plant. This means that many suppliers may be right when they claim that fruit made available at distance points may have the same quality as those consumed at the production sight. Of course this has only been made possible by the advancements in harvesting, handling, packing, shipping, and ripening processes. A good banana should be plump, unblemished, firm, and bright in appearance. The color is not always a sign of quality, in some cases a greenish banana may be of just as good quality as a fully yellow one, but not yet at the eating stage. Bananas may be ripened at room temperature but once ripe they can then be refrigerated but the skin may turn brown. On the other hand a green banana will be damaged by ordinary refrigeration. Once the ripening process has been halted in this matter it will not resume normal ripening when the temperature is raised. Avoid fruit that is soft, or otherwise shows bruising by considerable discoloration. Tree
ripened
bananas
are
not
the
most
desirable
as
stated
by
the
United
fruit
Co,
"
The
truth
is
that
no
resident
of
the
tropics
eats
bananas
directly
from
the
tree.
He
gathers
the
bunch
at
the
same
stage
as
the
fruit
is
gathered
for
export,
fully
developed
but
green,
then
hangs
it
in
a
shady
spot,
and
waits
for
it
to
ripen.
He
does
this
because
experience
has
taught
him
that
the
majority
of
bananas,
if
left
to
ripen
on
the
tree,
split
open
and
are
attacked
by
insects
which
render
the
pulp
unfit
for
eating,
and
that
those
which
reach
full
ripeness
without
splitting
have
a
pulp
which
has
little
flavor,
is
dry,
and
unpleasantly
mealy
in
character".
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