Why banana flavoured products does not taste like banana?
In: 4
Artificial banana flavoring was designed to taste like a banana variety that is now functionally extinct. Today’s bananas are said to not taste as good as the old ones.
In the early 20th century Gros Michel bananas were the most popular variety. But while technically not extinct, they can no longer be grown in commercial quantities.
Bananas that are grown commercially are all genetic clones grown from cuttings which makes them exceptionally vulnerable to fungus. This is called mono-culture farming, and is a very serious ecological problem for a variety of reasons.
The entire crop of the Gros Michel banana variety was wiped out by such a fungus and can no longer be grown in quantity because the fungus is still in the environment. As soon as you attempt to grow Gros Michel in any kind of quantity the trees get attacked by the fungus.
Hence the song “Yes, we have no bananas!”
Gros Michel were replaced by the Cavendish bananas that we eat today which are slightly smaller but don’t taste as good. But the same thing is happening again, a similar fungus is currently spreading and destroying the entire Cavendish crop. Cavendish bananas are likely not to be commercially viable within a few decades.
But don’t fret, farmers are working hard to create new banana varieties to replace them.
Latest Answers