BANANAS ARE PICKED GREEN 
green to yellow as they ripen. To be sure, there are red 
bananas. They are of a breed that is a little different. 
They are thicker and shorter. They are very good ba¬ 
nanas, but the public, being used to yellow ones, refuses 
to buy them. So the red bananas are not often shipped. 
They stay in the tropics and go to waste. 
The green banana is made up largely of starch. As it 
gets ripe, the starch turns to sugar. It turns to sugar 
while the green on the outside is turning to yellow. A 
green banana tastes starchy. It is not a very good food. 
Many persons eat bananas before they are properly 
ripened. They should not be eaten until the first light 
green darkens. It is better still to wait until black spots 
begin to appear on the outside skin. Those who know 
bananas best wait even until the whole outside has turned 
black. It is then that they are at their best. Bananas 
that are partly black are the proper ones to select for 
eating. 
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