The Banana Experiment, results and conclusion

So, how do the conventional bananas compare to the organic bananas?

Organic banana came in at $1.04 per pound of usable product.  Conventional banana came in at ≈96½¢ per pound.  That is a 7½¢ savings.  For frugality, the best buy is conventional bananas.

Organic banana had 34.7% waste.  Conventional banana had 38.8% waste.  For less waste, the best buy is organic bananas.  Looks like my cousin might be correct about organic banana peel being thinner is not necessarily the case.

Because of the weight loss difference, there is only a 35¢ increase per pound for the organic bananas while there is a 37½¢ increase per pound in the price of conventional bananas.  This means as one buys more weight of banana the difference per pound will statistically diminish.  If my math is correct, the prices per pound of peeled banana will reach equivalent at 15 pounds.  What this says is buying and freezing 15 pounds of organic bananas should result in the same overall cost (not to be confused with price) and the same amount of fruit as buying and freezing 15 pounds of conventional bananas.  Based on this little experiment, then, I would have to buy about 30 bananas creating 20 bags with 3 halves each.

As a frugalista, though, I know that numbers aren't everything.  When I peeled the organic banana, there wasn't much smell; I recall being disappointed by that and thinking they weren't worth buying anyway.  There was half a banana left over after packaging for freezing, so I tasted it.  It tasted like the banana taffy I like  Well, maybe not as strong, but it definitely tasted like a banana.  When I peeled the conventional bananas, I smelled banana.  This means essential oils (where taste and fragrance come from) were being released into the air.  Upon placing them on the scale, they slid around.  They were a bit oily, which corresponds with the release of scent when peeling.  As with the organic bananas, there was a half left over, so I tasted it.  In contrast with the organic banana, and belying the fragrance, there was almost no banana taste to the conventional banana.  It seems to all have evaporated with the removal of the peel.  Also, there was a starchy mouth feel (also referred to as texture) upon eating and a potato aftertaste with some dry mouth that was a bit annoying and has lasted beyond the time it took to write this post.  I don't recall that happening with the organic banana.

In conclusion, if your only concern is saving money and you purchase in small quantities (1 bunch at a time), buy conventional bananas.  However, buy organic bananas when you want something to actually taste of banana or have enough freezer space to store about 30 bananas.  I cannot comment on whether organic bananas are ecologically more desirable than conventional bananas.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

The conventional bananas

It is now 5 days since purchasing these bananas from the Sprouts supermarket.

You may recall from the original weigh in that the bunch of conventional bananas weighed 32¼ ounces.

As you can see, they have started to speckle brown.  I don't believe the organic bananas had started to speckle before I peeled them.  However, they had begun to turn dark.  Today, the conventional bananas weigh in at 30¼ ounces.  Allowing them to ripen has resulted in the loss of 2 ounces.  That is 2 ounces I paid for but will never be able to use.  The organic bananas lost the same amount of weight during peeling.  However, the organic bunch was slightly larger, thus there is a higher percentage of loss in the bunch of conventional bananas.  Now, what about after peeling?

Naked, the bananas weigh in at 19¾ ounces.  That is a loss of 10½.  Again referring back to the original post, I paid 59¢ a pound for this bunch of bananas, or a total of $1.19.  Dividing that $1.19 by the remaining ounces means I actually paid 96.4¢ per pound for usable banana, and the percentage of waste is 38.8%.  So, how does this compare to organic banana?  Click here for the exciting conclusion!

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

The organic bananas

While waiting for my dishwasher to finish washing the Ninja™ so I could go on to the next test, I looked around for another project to inspire me.&nbps; I saw the bananas sitting there that I had purchased 3 days ago and decided I had better get them peeled and frozen.

You may recall from the original weigh in that the bunch of organic bananas weighed 36 ounces.

Today, about 3 days later, they weigh in at 34 ounces.  Allowing them to ripen has resulted in the loss of 2 ounces.  That is 2 ounces I paid for but will never be able to use.  Now, what about after peeling?

Naked, the bananas weigh in at 23½ ounces.  That is a loss of 12½.  Again referring back to the original post, I paid 69¢ a pound for this bunch of bananas, or a total of $1.53.  Dividing that $1.53 by the remaining ounces means I actually paid $1.04 per pound for usable banana, and the percentage of waste is 34.7%.  So, how does this compare to conventional banana?

Well, after 3 days, the conventional bananas were still very green and not ready to be peeled.  However, they, too, have lost some weight.  Originally coming in at 32¼ ounces, they now weigh 31½.  Not much weight loss yet, but they are also not as ripe as the organic bananas.  I guess I will have to wait a few more days before I can peel and weigh these bananas and then post a conclusion to the banana experiment.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

The Banana Experiment

So, when I posted a complaint about the thickness of banana skins to Facebook, my vegetarian cousin wrote back stating that she buys organic bananas in part because the skin is thinner and, therefore, you get more banana for your money.  Out of my sense for frugality, I decided I had to test this statement, so today I bought bananas.  It was quite fortuitous that they happen to be the same brand of bananas.

These are the organic bananas I purchased.  I paid 69¢ per pound, and I got 2 pounds 4 ounces, or 36 ounces.  There are 5 bananas in the bunch.  As you can see from the picture, they are nicely yellow and are even starting to darken in spots, a sign that they are about to be ripe and ready for peeling.  I will probably do that tomorrow.

These are the non-organic bananas I purchased at the same store.  I paid 59¢ per pound (which is the same price I pay at the Kroger-run warehouse store in town), and got 2 pounds ¼ ounces, or 32¼ ounces.  There are 5 bananas in the bunch.  As you can see from the picture, they are still very green and unripe.  Based on experience, I will probably have to let these bananas sit for 4 days before I can peel them.  As usual, I will put them in a brown plastic grocery bag on my countertop until then.

At that time, I will create another post to compare weights, waste, and costs after the peeling is done.  The first of these posts, the organic bananas, is now finished.  The second post, the conventional bananas, is now finished.  The results and conclusion are now available. As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Bananas

While investigating what foods to eat before and after a workout, I found something interesting.  There are a good number of sites that say one could include a banana as part of the pre-workout meal or snack.  Other sites insist that a banana is good as part of the post-workout meal.  Still other sites insist that a banana is one food to completely avoid if one wishes to shed fat.

So much for the information superhighway.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.