Save Banana Peels And Turn Them Into A Sweet Syrup

It's often the case that we buy more bananas than we can eat before they become overripe. We've found plenty of ways to repurpose bananas, from freezing chunks for creamy sweet smoothies to mashing them up into a luscious banana bread. While you may think that the peel is an inedible protective layer with no alternative use, you'd be wrong! Instead of letting discarded peels stink up your trash can, you can repurpose them into a banana-flavored simple syrup.

Just as you use sugar to macerate berries or extract oils from citrus fruit, you can also draw sweet, banana-flavored liquid out of the peels with sugar. Banana syrup is an easy, hands-off recipe that breathes new life and purpose into banana peels. However, instead of leaving the peels whole, you'll blend them into a thick syrup. To execute the recipe, simply dice the peels into small pieces, place them in a sealable container, and cover them with an equal volume of sugar. After letting them sit on the counter or in the pantry overnight, the sugar will have extracted all of the water content from the peels, which in turn dissolves the sugar. Pour the peels and the sugary liquid into a blender and blitz until smooth. Finally, strain the thick pulpy liquid through cheesecloth to create a molasses-like syrup bursting with banana flavor to add to drinks, baked goods, smoothies, and more.

Creating a simple syrup from banana peels results in both a sweetener and flavoring agent, imparting an almost caramelized banana richness to any drink or dish. Simple syrups are common additions to cocktails, and a banana-flavored sweetener would work on countless tropical cocktails, from Mai Tai's and daiquiris to piña coladas. Banana simple syrup would also be a great flavoring agent for smoothies, milkshakes, and homemade ice creams. You can use up the entire leftover banana by blending frozen banana chunks with banana peel syrup to amplify the intensity of homemade banana ice cream.

Banana syrup would be the perfect complement to vanilla or chocolate shakes, or a tropical smoothie with orange juice, pineapple, and coconut meat. If you've ever eaten a banana while sipping your morning coffee, you know what a delicious complementary duo they are. You can combine the two by stirring a pump or two of banana peel syrup into a frothy latte or a milky iced coffee for a nice balance of sweet and bitter. Use banana syrup instead of maple syrup to drizzle over pancakes, waffles, french toast, or peanut butter sandwiches. You could also add banana syrup to the sweetened condensed milk mixture used to soak tres leches cake or in place of banana extract in a banana buttercream recipe.