For the past three decades, the banana has become the fruit equivalent of beige. It’s ever-present. You buy it because it’s there, and then you eat it because it’s… there. It’s not really craveable, and it’s not been at the forefront of anyone’s thoughts, really. 

And yet, bananas are the highest-selling and most-produced fruit, reaching over 139 million metric tons annually. Watermelons are trailing behind at around 104 million metric tons annually. It’s not that I’m a banana hater; it’s just that I believe that their abundance and ubiquity in fruit bowls across the globe have  led to a lack of attention. 

If they’re always available, always present, always there, then what gives them an edge of interest?