Banana MRI

Have you ever wondered what an MRI of a banana would look like?

http://imgur.com/lzaMeXm

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 entry was posted in Cooking, Musa, Musaceae, Zingiberales. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Banana MRI

  1. RAHT says:

    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!

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