Mongee banana: a Japanese company created a banana with an edible skin

A Japanese company created a a banana with an edible peel

Have your banana and eat the skin too. - by Livia Gamble

Have your banana and eat the skin too.

A Japanese company has created a banana that can be eaten with the peel on.

Sixty-eight-year-old Setsuzo Tanaka from Okayama Prefecture spent 40 years perfecting the Mongee banana (pronounced 'mon-gay' and meaning 'amazing'). The skin reportedly has the texture of lettuce.

Setsuzo’s company, D&T Farm, uses a "freeze-thaw awakening" method to make the bananas. This involves freezing banana seedlings before thawing and replanting them, the ABC reports.

The method speeds up the growing process from two years to six months.

As the publication explains: “The bananas mature quickly, leading to thin, pliable — and edible — skins.”

Bon Appetit!