OK there are naturally blue bananas that grow in areas like Hawaii, Fiji and the Philippines.
They are known as Ice Cream bananas and apparently taste like vanilla ice cream (why have I not had this yet??), hence the fruit is often called the Ice Cream Banana.
They don't travel well though so you may not have seen them in your lifetime.
It is also known as the Blue Java Bananas and Hawaiian bananas.
BUT this is not why I'm writing this post.....in fact I'm speaking about playing around with the yellow bananas that you get in most fruit and veg shops.
Universities in Austria and New York have found out that normal bananas come out as bright blue under a black light.
A black light is an ultraviolet light that has a long wavelength. So black lights have mainly UV light which we don't see, and very little other light that we see.
In fact did you know that if the light only showed UV light and no other light, it would be BLACK because you would not see it with the naked eye.
It would only show up against other surfaces like fluorescent colours etc.
Check the below picture to see the light showing in fluorescent paint
Credit
So because when bananas break down and ripen the chlorophyll in them breaks down and are concentrated in the banana peel.
So when the banana is not ripe and is green, they do not fluoresce under UV lights they show no blue colours.
The riper the banana the bluer and more fluorescent they become.
Check it out:
Credit
What is interesting about this fact is that some animals can actually see UV light!! That means this phenomenon would help them know when the bananas are actually ripe and ready to be eaten!!
A few animals see like this...think of snakes, butterflies, salmon and some birds. Why? Who knows...
In fact one scorpion is fluorescent and we have no clue why!!
I know this is a bit of useless information, but I think sometimes these types of things can be interesting to me....and since were part of this social group, I like to share it with you all.
So go shine that black light on your bananas and find out at what stage they're at....and to have a little fun while at it!
Cheers
