Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the world. Their bright yellow peel when ripe is instantly recognizable. But are bananas actually a white food? In this article, we’ll examine the science and history behind banana colors to determine whether they should be classified as a white food.
The Biology of Banana Color
Inside a banana peel, there are tiny cell organelles called chromoplasts that contain pigments called carotenoids. One of the most abundant carotenoids in bananas is called lutein. Lutein absorbs blue light and reflects yellow and orange light, giving banana peels their distinctive color.
When a banana is unripe, the lutein is trapped inside the chromoplasts, so the banana peel appears green. As the banana ripens, the chromoplasts start to break down and the lutein is released, turning the peel yellow. Eventually the lutein starts to break down too, resulting in brown spots.
The flesh inside the peel contains very few chromoplasts relative to the peel, so it appears white or cream-colored. However, there are still small amounts of carotenoids like lutein in the flesh that give it a faint yellow tint.
Nutrition Composition of Bananas
| Nutrient | Per 100g of edible banana flesh |
|---|---|
| Water | 74.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 22.8 g |
| Sugars | 12.2 g |
| Dietary fiber | 2.6 g |
| Fat | 0.4 g |
| Protein | 1.1 g |
| Vitamin C | 8.7 mg |
| Manganese | 0.3 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.4 mg |
As the table shows, bananas are predominantly made up of water and carbohydrates. They contain only trace amounts of fat and protein. The small amount of vitamin C and other micronutrients give the flesh a subtly yellow color when compared to foods like cauliflower that are made up almost entirely of water and carbs.
Cultural Depictions of Bananas as White Foods
In many cultures and graphic depictions, the flesh of bananas is shown as being stark white, even though it has a slight yellow tint when untouched. Why is this?
Yellow is inherently a very attention-grabbing color. If the banana flesh were depicted as yellow, it would grab more attention than the peel itself. But the bright yellow peel is the most instantly recognizable part of the banana, so the flesh is often drawn as white by comparison.
Cartoon bananas are almost always shown with plain white fruit inside the peel. For example, the Banana Splits, a colorful band composed of anthropomorphic fruit characters, had a member named ‘Fleegle’ who was a white banana in a full yellow peel.
| Character | Fruit Identity | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Fleegle | Banana | White fruit with yellow peel |
| Drooper | Lion | Orange |
| Bingo | Gorilla | Pink |
| Snorky | Elephant | Green |
Here the white banana flesh draws less attention next to the more saturated colors of the other band members, letting the yellow peel stand out.
Nutritional Profile Compared to White Vegetables
Plants like cauliflower, onions, and potatoes contain few carotenoids and plant pigments, resulting in their white color. Does the nutritional profile of bananas more closely resemble these white vegetables, or other yellow fruits like mango and pineapple?
| Food | Calories | Carbs | Sugar | Fiber | Potassium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banana | 105 | 27g | 14g | 3g | 422mg |
| Cauliflower | 25 | 5g | 2g | 2g | 303mg |
| Onion | 64 | 15g | 9g | 3g | 211mg |
| Potato | 163 | 37g | 2g | 4g | 715mg |
| Mango | 99 | 25g | 24g | 2g | 267mg |
| Pineapple | 82 | 22g | 16g | 2g | 195mg |
In terms of macronutrients like calories, carbohydrates, and fiber, bananas are more similar to tropical fruits than white vegetables. Bananas are lower in calories and carbs than potatoes and mangos, but higher than cauliflower. They contain more natural sugars than the white vegetables as well.
However, bananas do share a key micronutrient profile similar to potatoes – their high potassium content. So in some nutritional aspects, bananas profile closer to starchy white tubers.
Ripening Changes Pigment from Green to Yellow
When bananas are still growing on the plant, they are often referred to as ‘green’ bananas. At this stage, chlorophyll gives them an all green skin. As they ripen, the chlorophyll breaks down and the yellow lutein becomes the dominant pigment.
So a green banana could be thought of as closer to a white vegetable nutritionally when it has less lutein. As it ripens towards yellow, it takes on more characteristics of other yellow produce.
Cooking and Processing Removes Color
While raw banana flesh has a pale yellow hue, once it is cooked or processed, much of the subtle yellow coloring is lost.
Boiling, steaming, or baking bananas result in a near stark white flesh inside the peel. banana bread and other baked goods also render the banana component white. This demonstrates how minor the plant pigments are in the flesh compared to the peel.
This easy removal of color is more similar to how white vegetables become even paler with cooking. Fruits and vegetables with high natural pigment like carrots will retain more color when cooked.
Are White Banana Varieties Cultivated?
If bananas were to be selectively bred to be a true white fruit, it would require drastically reducing or eliminating the carotenoids that accumulate in the flesh.
There are no commonly available banana cultivars that are fully white inside. However, there is a rare variant of the dwarf cavendish banana called the ‘White baby banana’ that has a creamier flesh and whiter peel when ripe. But it still retains some yellow-orange carotenoids that give it a ivory color rather than pure white.
| Banana Variety | Flesh color |
|---|---|
| Cavendish | Pale yellow |
| Lady Finger | Yellowish white |
| Manzano | Cream |
| White baby banana | Ivory |
Interestingly, plantain bananas which are usually cooked before eating are lower in carotenoids and tend to have a whiter flesh than dessert bananas. But they still retain a yellow tint.
Conclusion
So are bananas a white food? While the flesh is commonly depicted as stark white, in reality it has a very subtle yellow color from small amounts of carotenoid pigments. The nutritional profile of bananas places them somewhere between white vegetables and yellow fruits.
While not purely white, bananas lack the intense yellow/orange color of fruits and vegetables with high carotenoid content. Cooking and processing bananas also leeches out much of their subtle yellow tones.
So while bananas may not qualify as a true white food botanically, their very light color both raw and cooked and their intermediate nutritional profile give them more in common with white vegetables than their bright yellow peel might suggest.