Fruits have different colors but some like mangoes and bananas are yellow. Why are bananas yellow? Banana just like many other fruits, develops as green in color at its early stages. This is as a result of the presence of a green pigment called chlorophyll. However, as the fruit approaches maturity it changes its color to yellow.
As bananas mature, they emit a ripening plant hormone ethylene that leads to the yellowing. Ethylene is a gaseous element produced by a maturing banana fruit is responsible for the change of color. The gas also contributes to the formation of a sweet smelling compared to give bananas their distinct smell.
A less ripe fruit especially before harvest, produces low level of the gaseous compound ethylene.
However, after harvest, there is a rapid increase in production of ethylene gas, speeding up the process of ripening making the fruit to quickly turn yellow and soften. It is the softening that makes peeling of a ripe banana fruit easier compared to the green banana.
How to Make Bananas Yellow
You can make bananas yellow at home. Many bananas exporters know that artificial chemical can be used to speed up the ripening.
Emission of ethylene gas equally affects the chlorophyll, by breaking the green pigment down. This in turn makes the banana peel to turn yellow from green. The color change shows that the banana fruit is ripe and ready for consumption.
Increased emission of ethylene by an ageing fruit is characterized by a wide spread of the brown spots on a yellow banana peel. This is the final stage where the whole peel turns black with some intermittent yellow patches. It is here where the fruit is termed rotten therefore unfit for human consumption.
Yellow to brown bananas
Once the fruit turns yellow, it takes very short period of time to turn brown. Continuous production of ethylene by the fruit will make it to develop some brown spots an indication that it is over ripening and starting to decay. The process is referred to as enzymatic browning a process which is very common when the fruit is bruised.
Not even a freezer can stop the fruit from undergoing the process. At this stage the fruit becomes sugary than ever before and should be avoided by diabetic people.
Did you have an idea about what makes bananas turn yellow before today?