Every time you peel a banana and throw away the peel, you are losing a potentially nutritious snack!
A study conducted in 2022 showed that if banana peels are blanched, dried, and ground into flour, they can be used to create pastries that are just as tasty as wheat-based products.
Banana Peel Flour
When participants in the experiment were offered the finished products, they noted that they liked the taste just as much as that of sugar cookies made without banana peel flour. It was also observed that by adding “banana flour,” consumers received a “generous portion of minerals and nutrients.”
For example, the sugar cookies created in the study and enriched with banana peel contained significantly more fiber, magnesium, potassium, and antioxidant compounds.
However, if too much banana peel flour is used, the cookies may become excessively brown and tough, which is likely due to the excess fiber. The researchers also noted that products made with banana peel flour retained their qualities on the shelf for three months at room temperature.
Benefits of Banana Peels
Although the 2022 study only examined the results of adding banana peels to cookies, the data suggests that it is also worth considering the use of such flour for bread, cakes, and pasta. For instance, a 2021 study on banana peel cakes demonstrated that the yellow skin of the fruit gives baked goods a natural yellow hue and enhances their nutritional value.
*At the same time, a 2016 study showed that replacing up to 10% of wheat flour with banana peel flour can enrich baked bread with higher levels of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
*Consuming banana peels is not only beneficial for health but also helps reduce food waste: approximately 40% of a banana's weight is its peel, and most of the time, this nutrient-rich part is simply thrown away.
