Just a thought that I had recently. In many parts of the world, people cook bananas when they are unripe, and in other parts of the world, people eat “dessert” bananas (e.g. Cavendish types) when they get yellow but not yet spotty. Do kids today know what a ripe banana is?
Well, if “yellow but not yet spotty” isn’t ripe to you, then maybe a lot of kids haven’t eaten a “ripe” banana.
However, I think most of us have eaten bananas that are past ripe, instead of throwing them out. Maybe that’s what you mean?
I don’t know, because you didn’t define what you think a ripe banana is, you just asked if kids don’t know what one is.
Ripe is when the starches have converted to sugars as much as possible but there is not yet any significant fermentation. In Cavendish subgroup bananas, this generally occurs when the peel has numerous brown spots on it. Some bananas (plantains) are totally black when ripe. Some don’t change colour after turning yellow, and ripeness must be judged by softness…