Those banana string thingies?

May 9, 2019 11:27 AM

Is there a technical term for those banana string thingies that are revealed once you peel a banana? And if not a technical term, maybe a made-up one?
posted by John Borrowman to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

Best answer: My kids call it "bleh" or the "banana yuckie" but they are called phloem bundles and are a part of the banana's vascular system.
posted by anya32 at 11:31 AM on May 9, 2019 [15 favorites]

Best answer: Botanically, a banana is a berry, and so exocarp and vein are perfectly good words, and more specific to fruit morphology. Phloem bundles occur all over a vascular plant, in stems, leaves etc. While it’s not wrong to use it for banana strings, it’s not at all specific to that structure. If you asked for a word for the little thingies at the end of your feet, I’d suggest ‘digit’ is also not the best answer, through it is of course acceptable.
In contrast, exocarp is specifically the tissue right inside the skin, and applies specifically to that part of a banana, as well as e.g. an orange.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:39 AM on May 9, 2019 [14 favorites]

Banana snotters.
posted by scruss at 11:52 AM on May 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

I'd go for "peripheral vascular bundle" but I'm just guessing.

Semi related: my family called the small inedible bit where the banana flesh tapers off (usually at the blossom end) the grommet.
posted by pullayup at 12:15 PM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

I just always called it pith, which I'm sure is wrong, but I don't care.
posted by Brittanie at 12:59 PM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

Semi related: my family called the small inedible bit where the banana flesh tapers off (usually at the blossom end) the grommet.

At my house it is the Deadly Banana Spike. I would love to know if that has a name.
posted by charmedimsure at 1:06 PM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

Rich Hall's sniglet for banana strings was "squimmets."
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:42 PM on May 9, 2019 [6 favorites]

B-String as in G-String
posted by advicepig at 2:21 PM on May 9, 2019 [4 favorites]

They're known as Premier Doggie Treats™ in our house.
posted by BostonTerrier at 2:21 PM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

You can do a lot worse than pith:
The term pith is also used to refer to the pale, spongy inner layer of the rind, more properly called mesocarp or albedo, of citrus fruits
... and frankly the mesocarp/expcarp distinction is a bit blurry when you jump across families.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:31 PM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Banana strings.
posted by Jubey at 4:48 PM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

Random factoid: if you peel the banana from the base instead of from the stem, all or most of the banana string thingies will pull away with the peel instead of clinging to the fruit.
posted by maudlin at 5:58 PM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

my family called the small inedible bit where the banana flesh tapers off (usually at the blossom end) the grommet.

In my world, that’s its anus.
Me, as I’m chucking it in the bin: “Goodbye, banana butt!”
posted by greermahoney at 6:00 PM on May 9, 2019

A douchey guy I used to know called the banana end the "bananus" and, regrettably, I can't get that out of my head. Thanks Dean..
posted by some chick at 9:34 PM on May 9, 2019 [7 favorites]

My wife says "Just eat them!" but I say they're poisonous (or at least inedible).
posted by Rash at 10:07 PM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

my family called the small inedible bit where the banana flesh tapers off (usually at the blossom end) the grommet.

That's the spider butt!
posted by The Minotaur at 8:16 AM on May 10, 2019