Science is recycling banana peels into cookies

Bananas are already a staple for many vegetarians. This fruit, rich in trace elements, is often used as a substitute for flour. If the flesh of bananas is often at the heart of recipes, the peel of the latter can also be used in the preparation.

A team of scholars from Aligarh Muslim University has conducted a serious study on this topic. In his paper published in the journal ACS (The link is here), Asima Shafi is interested in replacing the flour with banana peel. After a bit of preparation, his team produced banana peel flour. This white powder allowed them to make cookies.

Banana peel biscuit

Several test batches were made by the group of scientists. Each time the proportion of banana peel flour varies (from 7.5 to 15%). By observing the characteristics of these cakes, the addition of this new flour made it possible to increase the rate of protein. Scientists also noted an increase in fiber, magnesium and potassium.

Thanks to its antioxidant properties, banana peel flour will also be a very good natural preservative. Regarding the cookies mentioned above, they can be kept for a period of three months before they become unfit for consumption. The scientists noted that increasing the level of banana peel flour in the preparation had no significant effect.

So they advise staying around 7.5%. Furthermore, muffins can get quite dry, especially due to the dietary fiber naturally found in banana peels. Today the banana peel is discarded without any problem by the agri-food giants who don’t even consider it in the counts food waste

Banana peel: calls the same everywhere

Finding an alternative to recycling this part of the fruit allows us to significantly reduce our production by optimizing the use of a single fruit. In recent years, many solutions have begun to emerge to enhance banana peels.

Crushed, it is used especially in agriculture as a natural fertilizer. Thanks to its high potassium level, it is a great ally of plants. Its active properties also allow it to be well pressed in cosmetics where it is used as a solution against wrinkles or dark circles.

Banana peels in particular have been used in the form of oil for centuries in Africa and South America. It remains to this day a favorite remedy for brittle hair.