Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the UK, but picking the perfect one isn’t always easy. While most people look at the colour or firmness of the peel, a professional chef has revealed a much simpler trick to help you choose the sweetest and most flavourful bananas in the shop.
Cristian Feher, a chef with over 20 years of experience, says the key is to look at the stem. According to him, bananas with shorter stems tend to be far sweeter and tastier than those with longer stems.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel Food Chain TV, Cristian explained: “So, you’re at the store, you’re looking at bananas, but how do you know which ones taste the best? The secret is actually the length of the stem.”
He showed two bananas side by side, one with a short stem and one with a longer one.
“It just so happens that the bananas with the shorter stems are a lot sweeter and have a lot more flavour than the ones with the longer stems,” he said.
To prove it, Cristian did a simple taste test at home using two bananas from the same bunch, with the same level of ripeness.
He scored each banana out of five for sweetness and banana flavour.
Starting with the short-stemmed banana, he said: “On the sweetness scale, I’m going to give it a three and a half.
And on the banana flavour, it’s got a lot of banana flavour – I’m going to give it a four.”
He then tried the long-stemmed banana, adding: “On the sweetness, I’m going to give it a two. And on the banana flavour, I’m going to give it a two and a half.”
Cristian said the difference was clear and noticeable, even though both bananas were equally ripe.
“There is a big difference between the two bananas,” he said. “The bananas with the short stem are much more flavourful and sweeter than the bananas that have the long stem.”
He also encouraged viewers to compare the stems when shopping.
He said: “Just put them up against each other and you can really easily see which ones have the longer stems and which ones have the shorter stems.”
He added. “Just take the ones with the shorter stems.”
Cristian has built a large following on YouTube with his Food Chain TV channel, which shares recipes, cooking tips, and food hacks to help people become better home cooks.