127 Comments

absolutely incredible work, Anne and the CA-PAP crew. I was truly hoping the banana peel was some sort of secret delicacy right under our noses, but alas.

HOWEVER this did remind me of the best use of the banana peel, which is to be the outside of the BANANA BOAT which is a thing I learned to make over an open fire where you slice a banana and then empty out just a wee bit but not all of the banana guts so you can put in whatever the heck you want in there like marshamellow and honey and nutella - ITS UP TO YOU. Then you wrap it in tin foil and then you let it roast like you would a cob of corn. Its delicious and insane.

also i just learned you can make tea with the peel I am gonna try this and report back

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I am going to be no sleeping until I hear your banana peel tea report!

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“OH, HE ATE THE BANANA PEEL!!!” Anne, this issue created a new phrase for sports-nuts and sports-broadcasters to describe a particularly nasty event, such as a hard tackle in football, or a vicious slam-dunk in basketball or, most appropriately the punch that turned into a meme that Juan Manuel Marquez delivered to Manny Pacquiao: https://youtu.be/FNPmChbMsZQ and the subsequent memes of Manny face down: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M0ChWCvKKQoB3wSaTdrFGoNQoqOmP0LV

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“They also assigned each fruit a peeling score of 1-100 with 1 being “much better with the peel on,” and 100 being “totally worth peeling.” “I entered their findings into a 413-cell Peeling Analysis Spreadsheet. “

Anne you are the Spreadsheet Czarina! You need to create a “Guinea Pig/Rat Spreadsheet” for HizHonner!

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OH WOW "Spreadsheet Czarina" is going on my tombstone JRB!

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Oh man, you had me on the marshmallow, honey and Nutella, but lost me on the tea!

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Some days the state of the world gets me down and then Café Anne shows up and everything looks bright again. Anne, you are a true delight in this world. Thanks for bringing this international tribune together. Also I think it was mentioned in the comments last week, but I peel my cucumbers in vertical stripes AND I have been known to cook a cuke from time to time.

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Thank you Bekka! Mr. Rigsby also commented earlier to note that cooking cucumbers is a thing. I am trying to imagine what on earth...

As far as the vertical stripes strategy, that just makes a ton of sense as stripes are awesome in just about every context.

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"Made me feel like I was wasting the gift of a banana," said Jacob.”

My sentiments EXACTLY!!

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The Right Way to Open a Banana

The correct way to open a banana is not peeling it from the stem like so many people think.

The right way to peel a banana is from the opposite end, which many people consider to be the bottom of the banana.

This technique isn't new though — it's how monkeys open them all the time. They make a small incision in the banana's tip by pinching it, and then they split open the skin and peel back each section one at a time.

This might seem odd when you first try it out, but it's the most efficient way to open the fruit. Plus, it won't leave you struggling trying to break the thick stem, which you can instead use as a handle to prevent additional bruising.

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Mr. Greenberg! Our fellow Substacker Rebecca Holden recently wrote an excellent post on this important issue:

https://rebeccaholden.substack.com/p/50-which-way-up

It included a poll in which readers were asked about their peeling strategy. 19% said they peel from the bottom end, like you. Which I thought was high!

I know that it really is better to peel from the bottom but I'm afraid I'll never make the switch. You can't reverse a habit compounded over countless past lives of peeling from the top!

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Well Anne, if one of your countless past lives was that of a monkey, bottom peeling might be in your DNA.

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LOL Anne - thank you so much for this! That banana peeling post was the one I've had the most fun writing - and this fruit-peeling post of yours is an instant favourite of mine! 🤣

(I don't even eat bananas - shhhhhhhhh... 🫣)

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It was a great post Rebecca!

Wow I seem to have tapped into secret anti-banana society here. I actually love a banana if it's still a tiny bit green. But any banana with even a hint of brown is disgusting, as in anything banana-flavored. Banana bread, banana cream pie, banana pudding—all vile!

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Back to 100% Substack -- this seems doctrinaire for our amazing author who writes about all sorts of things and delights with most everything is okay -- I cannot resist but to coax more of this absolute thinking as it makes me smile -- the very best of drinks and complex and rich sauces contain BOTH THE FRUIT and a bit of the peel reduced -- enjoy the ride :) -- if it's edible it is probably good for you and even if it doesn't we just soak it or cook it a bit...see ya next Monday for more delights -- oh i almost forgot what about Banana Planks???

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Great question! I have yet to sample the Banana Planks, Mark, as I assumed it would be unpleasant. WHERE is my sense of adventure?

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ROFL -- I claim flexibility but am alas quite rigid myself. I think it likely no bananas were ever required to make the planks :)

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Thanks, Anne! In my banana-eating days I always preferred them green too. Overripe bananas , or cooked ones - COOKED! - no thank YOU!

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I will speak for eating citrus peels! I don't take bites of clementines or mandarins unpeeled, but I frequently munch on the peel as a complement to the fruit. I like the bitterness and the slight buzziness. And they are *great* in college when I was in a dark seminar room right after lunch and needed something with a very vivid flavor to chew on to stay awake.

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A lone but brave voice you are, Leah! And I'm sympathetic. I ate some tangerine peel in my own testing effort last week and I agree there's something to be said for it! I think the problem, as you sort of allude to, is that it needs to be eaten separately from the fruit itself.

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I should disclose I am an “eat the whole apple, except stem, but yes sticker” person, so I also like texture variance and bitterness more than the median person.

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“…CAFÉ ANNE Peeling Assessment Panel (CA-PAP) to decide the peeling question for grapes…”

JUST A GOTTDAMNED FUNNY ACRONYM!! OH ANNE!!!

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At the risk of being labeled "NOT ALL CITRUS," I have to advocate for LEMONS! Lemon peel is mild, minty, and DELICIOUS. I was shocked the first time I tried it. If you're a person who would happily eat the lemon slice in your drink, I strongly recommend eating the peel along with it.

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Hmm Bella, I am now thinking of another taste test just on citrus peel. You make lemon peel sound so delightful!

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You assembled a really amazing crack team for CA-PAP so I think a further citrus assessment would be fantastic! I am a big citrus fan, so I can tell you my personal take is that lemon peel is actively delicious, and as noted below, other peels candied and dipped in chocolate are a delightful palate provocation...

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Bella! A deep dive into citrus peels! I am putting on my story list for next winter when its peak citrus here in NYC. :)

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one could argue that anything including a spark plug dipped in chocolate is compelling so i guess

theres THAT

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One of the signs of rats in the yard, is evidence of a critter eating only the lemon rind off the fruit of the lemon tree.

I’m not sure how this relates but it seems relevant!

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fascinating tid bit

which makes it

relatable lol

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Bella has a point, but I’d go even further and say citrus peel is a delicacy (dried, candied, in recipes like marmalade and even barbecue). Is this too Florida for everybody else? I very much enjoyed reading the panel’s findings and look forward to your presentation at PeelCon.

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Yes! Also! CHOCOLATE COVERED ORANGE PEEL! CHOCOLATE COVERED ORANGE PEEL!

PeelCon!

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“They have a nice little pop, but if that’s what I’m after I’ll just eat a good hot dog."

As a hot dog aficionado I love the analogy from Laura…a good hot has to have “pop.”

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This is brilliant and silly. Most enjoyable!

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Haha thank you Patricia. That's just the response I am hoping for :)

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"What is your response to these findings?" I pressed. The answer, he said, was complicated. "Will explain on weekend, when I can talk," he said.;

Cats was very dodgy with his reply…maybe he’s nervous since Trump got indicted??

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"I HATE BANANAS. THEIR EXISTENCE IS PROOF THAT THERE IS NO INTELLIGENT DESIGNER. UNLESS SAID DESIGNER IS DEMONIC. THEY ARE HORRIBLE—AND THEIR TASTE TRIES DESPERATELY TO TELL YOU THIS. JUST DISGUSTING."

Just a great description from Bryan, though I like bananas!

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He is spot on though his comments really only apply to overripe bananas. We need to educate him. Too bad he lives so far away.

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Dear Anne!!! You simply outdid yourself this time, if that's even possible! To dream up, and then find participants for, the CA-PAP who give their all to the task, then scientifically analyze the results to make sure we, your readers, learn something new -- this deserves some kind of prize, the equivalent to an Oscar (ONLY in terms of its status; I don't really care for them much) -- a prize for being truly dedicated to what's important in life! Congratulations, you really shine! 💖💖💖

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Haha thank you Jessica. My favorite part of this whole project is that there were indeed eight readers out there willing to go out and buy the fruit, peel it, time how long it took to peel, eat it with the peel on, record all their findings, and write it all up and send it, and then let me include their full names and occupations...this made me very, very happy. Glad you enjoyed it too!

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I believe guinea pigs are common in the cuisine of many South American cultures. You can buy them frozen in Peekskil. What's the problem?

Do they carry disease. I can't see illegal betting on the guinea pig fights causing big problems but who knows?

I applaud the brash action of our new mayor in addressing another of the pressing issues facing NYC.

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Oh wow I knew you could get guinea pig for dinner in Peru but Peekskill!?!

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Wherever there are people from the Andes.

https://modernfarmer.com/2015/12/cuy/

https://www.ileia.org/2014/12/20/guinea-pigs-small-livestock-big-potential/

I think it could be the next super-meat.

Is the Banning the first step towards a culture war.

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“…the Mayor finally found someone to fill the newly-created position of Rat Czar.”

Not to be sexist, but SHE is a CZARINA!

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“…whether in a pet store or from the trunk of a Chevy Impala—you can know it’s a black market rodent. “

Oh the irony! HizHonner, Da Mayor, finally hires a Rat Czar, at the very instant City Council bans another rodent! Of course a memory: While I went college I had a job at Reynolds and Bookout Auto Parts across Wick Ave from Youngstown State University, which was on the corner of Lincoln and Wick (it was referred to as “UCLA”…University on the Corner of Lincoln Avenue) and twice a week an employee of a shady, local transmission shop would drive up to the loading dock to get parts, but also sold just about anything you could want from the trunk of a car! What is a more fun buying experience that getting a bootleg 8-track tape of Madman Across the Water for a buck?! The service was more Lyft than Uber…they should have named it “Uber-Fence.”

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I cannot believe the rat-czar makes more than teachers! Ugh!

Also: doesn't the peel tend to have the most nutrition? Maybe not true of bananas, but possibly of grapes?

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Well, she is a FORMER elementary teacher Jillian. Essential training for Rat Czar, I imagine.

I have also always heard that all nutrition is in the peel. Even mom said so! But I have no idea if that is true. Part of me feels like we all believe that only because eating the peel is so often unpleasant, and we all just assume that virtue=suffering.

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I've heard you can cook the banana peel and it actually tastes good! https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/banana-peel-bacon/ Never tried it myself though. And I have to say, while I was delighted by this whole piece, learning that people liked eating the kiwi with the skin on sent chills up my spine

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I know what you mean Chris but I tried kiwi with the skin on for the first time last week and it really isn't THAT bad.

As for cooking and eating banana peel, one of the panelists mentioned that her boyfriend or maybe it was someone else enjoyed deep fried banana peels while growing up. So it looks as though this really is a thing. I also tried eating a banana with the peel on last week though, and I have to say I think that was enough for one lifetime.

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hahaha

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"Peel Me A Grape" sung by Blossom Dearie.

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I peeled some mushrooms at the weekend to test a movie star recipe (Claudette Colbert’s Scrambled Eggs New York Style) I feel as though life is to short to peel a mushroom but perhaps they soak up more of the delicious BUTTER I cooked them in that way? 🍄

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Jenny, now you have me stumped. Do mushrooms even HAVE skin?

Also I am Googling right now to find out about these Scrambled Eggs New York Style...

Oh yeah, mushrooms, onions and ham! This sounds GREAT except I'd skip the mushrooms.

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I am totally mushroom averse - I cannot LOOK at the fronds, but I took one for the team and as Claudette said to peel them, I peeled them. THE HORROR of touching mushroom skin. Bleagh.

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I am so sorry.

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I almost puked.

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“But first, meet the panelists” 🤣

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This is truly wonderful investigative journalism.

Will you be interviewing Ms. Rat Czar?

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David! Yours is now the second request I've gotten to interview Ms. Rat Czar! Alas, she is also a now a local celebrity and star and I imagine there is a long line of reporters with so-called respectable outlets hoping for time with Ms. Corradi. I may need to get very creative here...

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“…a former elementary school teacher who used to handle rats for the city’s public schools.”

Bad choice of words…”handle”…

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“…the Mayor finally found someone to fill the newly-created position of Rat Czar.”

Not to be sexist, but SHE is a CZARINA!

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I don't know about you guys, but I feel like we should set up some kind of GoFundMe to investigate Corradi to make sure she doesn't also have a sordid rat background like Mayor Adams.

Ever since learning of Mayor Adams' rat citations and lawsuits related to his own home, I am very skeptical! They might both be working FOR the rats for all we know.... Do rats even have to notify anyone about campaign contributions?

As someone living in the real world who once built a 5 gallon bucket trap I saw on the Internet and wiped out 15 mice in a disgusting trailer home / hunting cabin within 24 hours, I take this subject seriously and am personally offended by any kind of government waste -- but especially hypocrisy.

I'd like to see a calculation of rat killed per dollar of her salary, and also per dollar of the budget she's working with. Let's see the data and let them both be judged by that. I'll happily change my tune if the numbers add up.

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An organized campaign funding effort on the part of those rodents would be a RAT PAC, just saying.

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'Peel me a grape'.

First recorded use by Mae West in the 1933 film I'm no Angel: "Beulah, peel me a grape."

As a citrus aficianado with sensitive fingers I suggest a survey of citrus (and possibly non-citrus) peelers.

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Len! Last week someone posted a very short video clip of this very scene—it's so great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeRm1T9V5wc

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Glad not to be alone. I should read your comments :-)

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