Did You Know You Can Eat A Banana Peel, As Bacon?

In the Northland, we have some odd foods that are traditions in our family. We don't think they're strange, but people that are unfamiliar might think they're weird. Here's an example of something we might think is weird that is apparently eaten elsewhere. Did you know you can eat a banana peel, plain or fried?

My friend Travis told me about his friend Kristen, from Africa. She said when she was 3 years old, she lived on a banana farm and used to eat bananas, then eat the peel. Obviously, it's not poison because Kristen is still alive.

She didn't know any better, she was three, as she told us on the phone. She also told us that she still eats them and enjoys them with a little peanut butter. That makes sense, Elvis liked peanut butter on his 'nanner sandwich.

So, Travis and I decided to eat a banana peel. I did not like the flavor or the fact that it left my mouth feeling very dry. Travis said it had a good finishing flavor. I don't think you can convince me to eat the whole banana.

When Travis brought this whole story up to me about eating banana peels, it reminded me of a TikTok I had seen. These two guys test viral recipes to see if they really work. They tested a recipe for banana bacon. No, it's not the banana part of the pig, it's the banana peel. Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (this is optional for your taste).

Fry in 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium to medium-high heat.

I will give you a couple of pointers. The recipe is very salty, I would increase the maple syrup to 2 tablespoons to even it out. The other pointer is, that the darker or longer you fry the "bacon" the saltier it gets.

Both Travis and I loved the banana bacon except for the too-salty taste and the overpowering soy taste. If you don't want maple flavor I would suggest corn syrup or water down the recipe to take away some of the salty/soy taste.