Bananas are botanically classified as berries and grow in bunches hanging from trees. Banana plants are native to the tropical regions of Indomalaya and Australia and are now grown in many countries. Bananas grown around the world vary in size, color, and firmness, but are usually long and curved, with soft starchy flesh covered by a peel, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. In Europe and the Americas, banana fruits are usually soft and sweet, but in some countries bananas are firmer, starchier fruit called plantains and are used for cooking.

Ripe yellow bananas are a good source of potassium, manganese and phosphorus. Bananas and plantains are high in fibers such as pectin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS).*