Ever wondered why artificial banana flavour, reminiscent of those foam banana sweets from your childhood, doesn’t quite match the taste of a real banana?
It appears they do – or at least, they mimic what fresh bananas used to taste like. This intriguing topic was discussed on the podcast A Normal Meets A Nerd, hosted by The Chase‘s Darragh Ennis and comedian Dylan Evans, leaving listeners astounded.
Liverpool-born Dylan expressed his distaste for “banana-flavour things”, despite finding bananas a “lovely fruit”. However, Dubliner and quiz whizz Darragh offered a “good reason why” this is the case. He clarified: “So, the banana flavouring is what bananas used to taste like.”
To clear up Dylan’s bewilderment, Darragh explained that almost all yellow bananas we purchase in supermarkets are of the Cavendish variety. These bananas aren’t reproduced via seeds but are clones of each other, resulting in identical taste.
According to Darragh, this variety arrived in the UK in the 1950s, replacing the Gros Michel variety which was decimated by a fungal disease known as Fusarium wilt of banana, or FWB. As these bananas were clones and genetically identical, they were nearly completely eradicated by the disease, which kills plants by obstructing water and mineral transportation.
“So the Gros Michel banana tasted almost exactly like fake banana flavouring, and they’ve just never changed it. That banana flavouring mimics what bananas were like 75 years ago,” he added.
Taking to Reddit, some forum users discussed what the Gros Michel variety tastes like. One person said: “I think I unknowingly bought some on a local produce market in La Palma, in the Canary islands. Everything about that banana was amazing. The taste is really strong, and resembles the candy flavouring, it took me by surprise. The texture is firm and creamy at the same time, not brittle and slimy like the Cavendish. I highly recommend trying them.”
Another added: “Have you ever tasted banana flavored candy? Laffy Taffy or something similar? The Gros Michel taste is close to that because it contains a higher concentration of isoamyl acetate (the main flavouring component in banana flavouring) than the Cavendish variety does.”
Others had no idea the flavouring was based on real bananas. “I hate bananas but this is actually really interesting,” said one person. “I’ve learned something today,” said another.