Have you ever wondered what an MRI of a banana would look like?
Much more hypnotic than I expected! I am definitely interested in seeing MRIs of other fruits and plant parts. If I find any particularly interesting ones, I’ll let you know!
In the MRI, you can clearly see the three-part structure of the fruit that’s common to Zingiberales. That’s right — bananas are related to those other tropical delights, ginger and cardamom! Next time you find a whole cardamom pod, take a look — it will split into three parts, just like a banana.
Here is a video demonstrating how this aspect of banana structure can be useful:
It’s not just good for banana splits; I do this to add bananas to cereal! It makes it quicker and easier to chop the bananas into small pieces.
Ever since I learned bananas and ginger were related, I’ve tried pairing them. Try it sometime — it can be SO delicious. Think Canton (ginger liqueur) in bananas Foster, powdered ginger with bananas in cereal or in banana bread, a banana and candied ginger creme brulee… yum!
This was fascinating. I had no idea that bananas were related to ginger and cardamom; I’ll have to try experimenting with those combinations.
Thanks for an interesting post!