Breaking Bananas: The Sign That Makes Me Want To Do The Opposite.



Question: Why do certain grocery stores have “You break, you buy” signs posted in regards to bananas, whereas other grocery stores couldn’t give two cents, whether or not you want to break the hands apart, buying 1-2 bananas out of the bunch?

I’m just really curious as to why breaking is bad? What’s the mentality behind keeping the bunches, as is? Is noone going to buy a lone banana? Does the breaking sound annoy the staff?

My inquiring mind wants to know! Do you break bananas?


111 responses to “Breaking Bananas: The Sign That Makes Me Want To Do The Opposite.”

  1. Sally says:

    Bhahaha it gives me a deep satisfaction breaking the banana bunch. I’d like to think im doing a public service helping the elderly that only need one or two 😛

    I guess its no different then going through the bag of grapes picking what bunches you want.

  2. Ingrid says:

    <———————- banana breaker

    I don’t like when all the bananas get to the perfect ripe-ness at the exact same time, so I only buy 2 at a time.

  3. baggypants says:

    No one wants to break-up the group….remember Yoko-Ono???

  4. Andrea says:

    I’m a banana breaker and a grape picker!!

  5. Stephania says:

    Is anyone an egg switcher?? I think that’s pretty pathetic, UNLESS there’s a broken one!

    I swear, I saw a lady going through the cartons, quite methodically, getting together her army of hormone pumped EGGS!

  6. Lynn says:

    I wonder if they have a sign in the bakery department, you know, “Do not break bread”?? I kill me… 😛

  7. Carrie Hamm says:

    I’m wiht you andrea

  8. slide says:

    None of the stores I go to have any banana-breaking policies in place. Maybe that particular store had experienced a spike in wanton banana-breaking and decided that enough was enough.

    @Ingrid: How about buying 7 bananas in increasing order of greenness so they ripen one out of the other. It’d sure piss off the banana nazis.

    I only switch eggs if they’re cracked. Size, shape, and color aren’t really a factor.

  9. Andrea S says:

    I could care less if the bunches are broken. I always buy at least a whole bunch and sometimes the two all by themselves 🙂

  10. NB says:

    I totally break banana bunches. Always have, always will. There’s no way I’m paying for a brown banana that has a life span of another 5 minutes for the sake of keeping the bunch intact, even if it is 15 cents. My money, my consumer choice 🙂

  11. lizziebargain says:

    I think that banana bunches ripen faster once you break one off so perhaps that is the reason.

  12. izawa says:

    I use to just buy the banana bunches because I thought it came in a “package” hahaha
    but now i break them, I can’t manage to eat all of them by myself!!
    I tend to always grab the ones which are broken beforehand, benefits 2 people
    but I guess grocery stores want to make money off you, if they can’t sell all those bananas, they lose money

  13. Dyan says:

    I confess I am a banana breaker, there is only two of us here so no need to buy a whole bunch. I do have a good tip though, if you break the bananas apart (once your home of course) they will last longer.

  14. iamperfectforme says:

    this is a funny topic! i never used to think twice about how i picked my produce, a trip to europe changed that.

    in europe you are not allowed to fondle fruits or veggies at all, definitely not the way we do business here…or at least back in 1999 you weren’t allowed too there.

    i am back to fondling, but i ALWAYS think of the crazy italian that almost took my hand off when i went to reach out for a nectarine from his fruit stand. not only was i not allowed to fondle them, i wasn’t even allowed to touch it until i paid for it…he kindly washed it for me after telling me that picking through fruits or veggies was a big no no there. hmm…we sure are spoiled rotten in north america, literally. lol!!!!

  15. Caroline says:

    What about fresh ginger. Am I the only one who breaks these monsters in smaller pieces? I’ve always wondered…

  16. Julie says:

    Anything sold by the pound is fair game for breaking in my world. Obviously I wouldn’t rip up a head of lettuce, but I don’t want a bunch of 8 or 9 bananas.
    This is a favorite trick of little produce stores near us. They bag up things like green beans, peas etc in quantities that are way more than most people need, then have a hissy fit when they see me opening the bag and placing the amount I want into a separate plastic bag. I just tell them that if they want me to buy the whole bag, they should price by the bag, Till then, I can buy as little or as much as I want.

  17. jr says:

    you should only pay for what you’re going to use! at my local grocery store (Which is in an extremely ethnically diverse neighborhood)…everyone is very selective with the produce they buy…and why not? you shouldn’t have to pay for a batch of produce an have half of it rotten by the time you get it. we’re all smartcanucks, no reason to do something dumb like pay for something that’s going to go to waste or has ALREADY gone bad!

  18. Charlotte's Mommy says:

    I’m a banana breaker b/c i only want 4 and the bunch usually comes in 6-7…just too much. I guess the stores don’t like banana breakers b/c I don’t buy any of the ones that have already been broken off…b/c they’re usually too ripe 🙂

  19. Emily says:

    I worked at a grocery store and everyone would break apart the bananas but no one would pick the bananas from the broken group. So we’d end up with a huge display of single bananas. Talk about banana cruelty!! Just kidding 🙂

  20. sacha says:

    I have broken bananas but I will also buy bananas that have already been broken apart. I think it is only fair that if you break bananas that you should also be willing to buy previously broken bananas 🙂

  21. cUinTimBuck2 says:

    @Caroline I break fresh ginger also…and I confess, I am a banana breaker.

  22. Jay says:

    Just to play devil’s advocate, they probably have had enough of some heavy fisted banana masher who squeezes and mangles the unwanted portion of the bunch in such a way that guarantees rotten bruising in about an hour! Whilst gingerly placing their 1/4 portion into their cart. LOL… just a thought.

  23. Sue says:

    We go through bananas like crazy (I have a house full of monkeys!) so I only break bananas if there is a bad one in the bunch I am also a grape picker. sometimes the banana eating slows and I end up with one or two left over that is starting to over ripen. I just take the banana and throw it in the freezer. when I have enough (about 5 or 6) I make muffins.

  24. Jenny says:

    Didn’t even know there was a rule where you COULDN”T break bananas I do it all the time.

  25. tara says:

    maybe i was scarred as a kid, but i always take the broken bananas and legitatemly think it’s because SOMEONE has to love (eat) them. sad, but true.

  26. Amy says:

    The first time I saw such a sign was at a local Asian supermarket – and the staff at this particular market does keep an eye on customers. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone being called our for banana-breaking, but I’ve never cared enough to stick around to watch if the sign is actually heeded (I don’t buy bananas from this particular store).

    Having said that, I am an unashamed banana breaker whenever I do buy bananas. If I’m paying for it, I’ll buy the bananas I like, thank you very much. But I’m not biased – I will buy the lone pair of bananas as well.

  27. caroman says:

    banana breaking….ahhh I do this for fun, with an evil grin on my face

  28. AmberLab says:

    First I’ve even heard of the term! I usually grab the whole bunch, we go through a lot of them. I’m shocked to hear of grape sifting too. It never occurred to me to do that. LOL

  29. Lulu says:

    I’ve heard of cherry picking but this is a new one!

  30. Jen M says:

    I buy 2-3 at a time. If there are already broken ones available, then I usually pick those up. If there are only big bunches, then I break 🙂 Never saw a sign about bananas, but my local store has signs about picking through cherry/strawberry trays. I don’t do that if it says that.

    Don’t switch eggs either. If I see a cracked one, I just check the next carton.

  31. Tanya says:

    I break sometimes, if there’s a bad banana in the bunch, other times I take the whole bunch, and someones I’ll even grab a bunch + some pre-broken bananas! We go through a lot in my house :p

  32. Natty says:

    My family are banana breakers, no shame here. Our stores have never had a no breaking signs. My parents are egg switchers, too but only if they’re broken. My dad always open the cartons and looks at the eggs before taking them, lol.

  33. tanya says:

    Yoko Ono I am not. We always buy several big bunches, no breaking required. If they get too ripe we make banana bread! You can also peel them and keep them in the freezer for smoothies or to use in baking.

  34. Amy says:

    So I tried googling to find a scientific reason of why someone should NOT break bananas, since most of us here don’t find anything wrong with it. I didn’t find an answer, but I did find an old 2008 thread from msn that discusses banana etiquette. They talk about the same thing, right down to the topic of eggs too! Just found it kinda funny, I guess things don’t really change. =)

    If you’re interested: http://lifestyle.msn.com/messageboards/thread.aspx?board=00000065-012b-0000-0000-000000000000&thread=00000065-0000-0000-77a7-0b0000000000&_p=00000065-0000-0000-0000-000007474b01

  35. Sally says:

    I’m so glad we moved this here from facebook Steph, this blog cracks me up

  36. Stephania says:

    Thanks Sally for the suggestion! I thought it was just something insignificant that crossed my mind.

    Soo glad we moved beyond the regular bellyaching! 😉

  37. aaahh says:

    Never even thought about it!!! I break bananas because I won’t eat 6 bananas, but I will eat 2 before they go brown!!! I also split up grape packages and asparagus bunches for the same reason. Less wastage. Produce guy at my grocery stores even give me permission.

    Another question….why do people put their bananas in a plastic bag???? They are self contained. Why waste the bag.

  38. Wilson says:

    A few people said it, I think that they ripen faster when they are broken up.

  39. Bare Bottoms says:

    Hello…my name is Shauna and … I AM a banana breaker…a grape picker…cherry picker….produce fondler….
    It all started when I realized that I was wasting fruit…I just couldn’t bare to toss away my money anymore…thus I started buying only as much as I could eat….Yes, I fondle my produce BUT I SWEAR its for good reason!
    HAHAHAHAHAHA! Awesome Topic!

  40. Marnie says:

    I buy the “broken” ones. Often there is a huge pile of them beside the regular bunches. It allows me to buy bananas at various stages of ripeness. If those singletons are not sold, it cuts into profits. Maybe that helps to explain the rising price of bananas.

  41. Corbinx says:

    I remember watching some show on TV (food network?) saying it was okay to do so, and only buy what you need. So from that day on, I became a “banana breaker”!

  42. curls says:

    Wow – never, ever seen this – though the organic ones come wrapped with something on the end so they’re impossible to break! I look for broken ones! Didn’t know there was etiquette!

  43. emma says:

    The only reason grocery doesnt want you to break bananas is coz no one ever buys the broken ones, so it becomes scrap for the grocer. I guess they feel they can not sell them. Its like loose grapes, no one wants them unless they are in a bunch. But I will admit I am a banana breaker too. There’s just way too many bananas in a bunch for me to eat. I just need 3 or 4, not 8! Sometimes I really hate those specials that advertise “buy one get one free”. Why can’t grocers just make them half price. I really don’t need 2 jars of peanut butter or 2 bottles of mustard.

  44. Bonnie says:

    @tara (comment #25) – That is so sweet!

  45. GottaLoveFreeebies says:

    I appreciate all the banana breakers – my stores package them up and sell them at 50% off!! Just my price! lol! Break away people!!! I am a supporter!!!

  46. marshmallow80 says:

    I break bananas and ginger. I open/husk the corn to see if it’s ok too 🙂

  47. Anne says:

    I’ve never seen signs in stores saying that breaking bananas were not allowed. My mum would buy fruits in low quantity since she’s afraid of wasting food if she buys a lot and no one eats it. She always breaks off and only buy 2-3 non-ripe bananas and would only buy more if they were all eaten at home.

  48. abbasgirl says:

    I’ve never seen a sign like that! I break bananas if there aren’t already some broken. I also buy the broken ones when they reduce the price, like GottaLoveFreebies does (At my store they are 99 cents for a bag of 10-12).

  49. Connie says:

    We usually eat 2 bunches between shopping trips. No time to banana break. As I zoom by the bananas at top speed I try to grab one green grouping and one yellow grouping.

  50. Nikki says:

    That’s so funny, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Nor have I seen broken bananas on discount! I break them all the time, I’m with Ingrid.. I have a very short window when the bananas are the right ripeness for me to eat so I can only buy one or two at a time. And I still end up with some in my freezer!

  51. Me says:

    LOL “egg picker”. Is that any different than pulling a smaller bunch of parsely off a biggger bunch, or picking the radishes, or pulling the corn out of the leaves (when sold by the piece). I personally don’t like the odd single bananas because you know @ some point in its display life it was ‘harassed’- I am a germaphobe. I have noticed tho that organic bananas are sold in smaller bunches- maybe that would solve everyone’s problem. 🙂

  52. misskitty_79 says:

    I break bananas & pick the grape bunches I want too. I live alone & can only eat so much before it goes bad, so I figure if they’re selling by the pound & I don’t *want* four pounds worth? I’ll just take what I *do* want & they’ll be happy that I did. If anyone ever had the gall to tell me off for it, I wouldn’t be shopping there anymore.

  53. Whatever says:

    Banana breakers are fine. The out of control corn huskers are the ones I have an issue with. They leave a pile of semi-opened corn on the cobs that no one wants and you have to dig through to see if there are any intact ones down below. Summer time annoyance/pet peeve.

  54. parislove says:

    I do it all! (except egg picking…if it is cracked I will get a diff carton) I am a banana breaker, grape sifter, cherry picker…. reason 1) I am paying for it and I am only going to get what I want/can use 2) I am super picky when it comes to produce and it has to be just the right degree of ripeness 3) so help me if I saw that sign I would go break all the bunches I could before they chucked me out…free the bananas!

  55. mouse7649 says:

    LOL I break bananas and pick grapes!

  56. cathy says:

    Not only do I break bananas, I empty the bags that grapes come in and then refill with the quantity I want, minus any stalks, why pay for branches? I also rummage through the boxes of clementines and for every bad one I find I replace from another box lol

  57. Jamie says:

    I totally break bananas. I don’t eat them fast enough to merit buying an entire bunch. Shopping stores that prevent you from breaking bananas should be sued on a discrimminatory basis for those that live on their own.

    😛

    Jamie

  58. Natalka says:

    DAY-O!!!
    Come Mister Tally man, tally me bananas…
    daylight come and me wanna go home…

    I’ve never heard that term before, never have seen such a sign – and I totally ‘break bananas’ to get ones the size and ripeness I want.
    Many times, I choose the bananas left in ones and twos as well – nothing’s wrong with them. As long as someone breaks them at the stem and doesn’t squish the bananas, this shouldn’t be a problem.

    I’m a grape picker – mostly because of the amount. I got ‘caught’ once – and was told I had to buy the whole bag. However, I argued successfully with that produce dude since the grapes weren’t sold by the bag, but by the kilo, it shouldn’t matter.

    Cherries take me forever to sift through, but I always go through them carefully and pick what I want. Of course I check eggs, too.

  59. Kate says:

    Haha Cathy I sift the big stems out of my grape bags too. The other day BF almost died when I ripped a big huge stem off my red pepper too, haha. why pay for the stem when those darn things are expensive enough already!!

  60. meow says:

    My DH does not eat bananas (but I do), so I don’t buy bananas because #1) I feel bad/guilty for breaking up a bunch and #2) I can’t finish a bunch.

    I need to work on getting over the guilt. lol

  61. sUE says:

    Hugs to you all! I love these bits of randomness – just like real life, eh? I didn’t know you meant until I read on. Beautiful stuff, guys! Don’t ever stop. PS – yep, I break apart bunches, too. And am quite happy to grab the ‘singles’ when they meet my assorted ripeness needs 🙂

  62. TallNFunny says:

    I am a banana breaker but also a single banana BUYER, so I figure it evens itself out.
    What about stores that don’t let customers open ears of corn! That irks me. I won’t buy closed corn. Who knows WHAT is inside there, what’s eating the corn inside etc! Anyone agree?

  63. buddyl says:

    Banana breaker, grape picker, and asparagus bunch breaker also. You guys are hillarious. If something is sold by weight I have the right to pick my weight I want!!!

    If stores are so worried about this maybe they should pack these things in lesser quantities, not everyone wants 2 pounds of a product.

  64. bhlombardy says:

    Breaking Bananas… isnt that the critically acclaimed TV series starring Bryan Cranston? I’ve always wanted to catch that.

    seriously though… any produce that is sold “by the pound” needs to allow me to choose to buy it as such. forcing me to buy ~3lbs when bananas have a short shelf life in my house (single guy here)… is ludricous.

    There’s no reason that seperating them at the vertex is going to damage them.

    Of course, I buy my bananas at Costco… which are bagged at ~3lbs… and yes, I get 3lbs, but 99c for 3 lbs, (33c/lb) is far better than the 69c – 89c Superstore and those SOB’s (err Sobeys) sells them for. even if I give half of them away, I’m still ahead.

  65. sUE says:

    Gotta say the opening of ears of corn really really bothers me! I never saw it happen until we moved back to Ontario about 7 years ago. In Southwestern ONtario, EVERYONE opens the corn! There are even bins/bags available to put the husks in. In my experience, this has not reduced the number of icky cobs I’ve ended up with. Just shown what pigs some people are who toss aside perfectly good cobs of corn because they don’t like how it looks….

  66. QueenSadi says:

    I buy organic bananas at RCSS and they are wrapped in bunches with a sticker so I guess you’re not supposed to separate them. They usually come in bunches of 4-6 so that works out good for me (my husband is a ‘banana a day guy’). I really don’t like it when I go to buy grapes/cherries and most of the bags have been opened and rummaged through. I try to take a bag that’s not been opened and I never break the stems off, I would just feel guilty doing that 🙂

  67. Twinmommy says:

    I just recently started to break off bananas especially if I’m shopping at the end of the week and we only need a couple. I did not realize this was bad banana etiquette to break them. I sometimes dump out bagged cherries or grapes in order to get a smaller amount, but I don’t pick them over. I do give my eggs the once over when I pick them up to make sure there are no broken ones, but I would never pick and choose out of the cartons. Seriously, who has time for that?

  68. Melody Halls says:

    Not only am I a breaker but I also buy the 2 – 3 that have already been broken off as I like my bananas a little on the green side.

  69. Roll-on says:

    This is too funny,,, Yes, I am a bagged grape distroyer – I’m not paying for the mushy rotten stuff at the bottom, I will sift through 3-4 bags and take the best. Break Bananas? never heard of that, but I take 2-3 bananas, all at different ripeness (broken off or not), I break the best firm piece of the ginger off, I will also take the excess leaves off of the cut up brocolli and cauliflower, and I’ve seen people peel brussel sprouts and leave the outer leaves there. I’ve broken asparagus bunches apart because my 83 yr. old mother only eats 4-5 pcs. I’ve pulled corn husks back slightly only to make sure the cob is full. I’ve seen signs where if the husks are peeled away, you pay extra.. Yes, I’m guilty off it all and I’m sure that’s why we are paying the big bucks and will not throw good $$$ away on garbage.

  70. Natalka says:

    Oh, yes, to add – I’m a corn on the cob checker as well, but I peek rather than ravage the husk.
    Roll-on – I do the same with asparagus, I take maybe a third out of the asparagus which has elastic around it in a one kilo bunch.

  71. Crystal says:

    ahahahaha! I break bananas. But only if I can’t find an already broken set that matches my needs. I have no issues with breaking bananas. It only makes sense. But at the same time, I do try to take some of the “reject” ones from someone else’s break. If there’s something there that are the right ripeness (or a few ripe with a few green) and I think we can eat them all before they go “bad” then I’ll take reject breaks, no problem! 🙂 And as always, extras are frozen for banana bread, so it’s not the end of the world if I do have an extra one or two at the end of the week. Keep breaking everyone! haha. As for the eggs, I just take a carton that doesnt have any broken ones, i dont switch egg for egg. The rest of stuff I dont bother to pick through. I do get mad at mandarin oranges in the case when half the case is no good though. That’s frustrating.

  72. kashren says:

    I break bananas to get the ones with the stickers…I don’t mind broken bananas but I hate bread squishers! They never buy the loaf they squished…

  73. vibrantflame says:

    Odd, I have never heard of this before. I do have to say though that I have done this before (broken the banana bunch). If however it is pre-packaged, I won’t touch it. I will buy the entire package. If it is grapes, I look for a bag full of good grapes or I don’t buy it at all. It honestly never occurred to me to switch the grapes around in the bags. Same with eggs, I don’t switch them around, if I find a broken one in a carton I just pick a different carton.

  74. TallNFunny says:

    @Crystal – I agree with you on the issue of mandarin oranges. Once people pick through the case, it is never certain how many should be in a case and I always feel bad adding more to cases that suddenly seem half full.

    Regarding corn, I’ve seen some in really bad condition, but if I peel a few and they seem good, I buy from the batch. If they seem poor, I tend to peel more I guess….it depends.

  75. Talimomali says:

    I’m a banana breaker and a lonely banana buyer! I buy the ones that are nice and green and firm, but sitting all by their lonesome.

  76. Eryn says:

    While I don’t understand the problem with breaking bananas, I myself am NOT a banana breaker. In fact I’m one of those freaks who checks out with like 5 bunches of bananas.
    My husband likes them on his toast, my mum always feeds them to her spoiled dogs when she’s here, and my little girl, nearly two, thinks they are the food of the gods, and has been known to eat nothing but bananas for periods of three days or longer. LOL.
    So breaking the bunches would be useless for me to do. On the VERY rare occasion they go brown before they get inhaled around here, I have an awesome banana cookie recipe 🙂

  77. michelle says:

    With all the talk about banana breaking, I wonder if its going to be the next big fad after cow tipping.

  78. mhk says:

    Not guilty – sometimes. At other times – guilty. Can anyone tell I am a gemini? 😉

  79. Lisa Hallman says:

    I work as a cashier, I see it all.

    Banana breaking, fine by me. I see people by singles all the time as well. Usually the seniors or someone who just wants a snack. As far as I am aware our store does not care about banana breaking either.

    I’ve seen topless peppers as well, I don’t agree with this because the grocer has to pay for the whole pepper, so that’s not right. I understand the reasoning though. I also understand why some will, it does seem unfair.

    There are people who break the stems off mushrooms, and those who grab less then a bunch of asparagus. I don’t think our store complains about the peppers because there are so few that do it.

    To me it makes sense to remove the rotting blueberries, raspberries and strawberries and replace them with good one, in the end you end up with a few containers of bad berries after all.

    So I think anything that doesn’t physically break the fruit/vegetable that you are eating is fine.

  80. melis84 says:

    I am also a banana breaker, but have never given a second thought to it! Thanks for the awareness, I’m going to try harder to adopt the single bananas I see in the pile from now on.

  81. kimmie bt says:

    If I want less than a bunch I break.
    If I want less than a bag of grapes I select what I want.
    As the customer I don’t appreciate the store telling ME how many/much I must buy. I am an adult and it is my money and I’ll spend it however I choose. In other words – I’m not a lamb, to be lead by any silly sign.
    Just my not so humble opinion. 🙂

  82. Sue says:

    DID you know (total randomness now) that tomatoes have been bred (probably wrong word) over the years to have that thick skin? Apparently the original tomato was thin-skinned. The consumer’s tendency to paw fruit has resulted in this genetic modification – I’m thinking the taste has been affected as well.

  83. 2jk19 says:

    haha this is a funny post! I most def. break bananas because sometimes I only want a couple or there is a bad banana in the bunch!

    I never switch eggs unless there is a cracked one!

    I always pick through grapes too lol 😛

  84. smartmer says:

    I have never seen such a sign, I will now be on the lookout.

    I don’t think there is anything wrong with selecting the bananas you want. (Unless you are at Costco and they are in that big bag.)

  85. 2cent says:

    just to fair I do see some people who breaking bananas here and there to select the banana that they wanted and they aren’t bad bananas they still look fresh and green. the rest just look like leftover bananas after she break them… I doubt you would want to pick it from those that look like it has been thrown out.

  86. Sue says:

    my mother-in-law gets the poor kids at the deli counter to put a piece of waxed paper between every single THINNNNNNLY sliced piece of meat in her one pound meat order. You can guarantee that she is a banana breaker, grape picker, tomato squisher and, no doubt, a check-both-ends-of-the-green-bean kinda’ shopper!

  87. L6941 says:

    1. I have never seen that sign in any of the stores I go to, let’s just say there are no No Frills/Price Choppers in my city. 🙂

    2. I don’t like breaking bananas because I feel bad for the discarded ones (tee hee). I’ve seen people break and ‘molest’ those bananas and I think it is so tacky. The banana shelf/cart ends up looking like a mess. I can eat lots of bananas because I have a very fast metabolism. I am 5’6 and 115 lbs. 36-25-36.

    That is all.

  88. ME says:

    I don’t break bannanas but I do look for already broken ones, 6 or 7 is too many I want 3 or 4.

  89. Sally says:

    Everyone here checks the corn. I remember once this old lady chased after a younger women telling her she was “nuts” for not going through the corn first lmao! It was pretty funny. Sometimes if its not the greatest batch of corn 50% isn’t buyable…

  90. Sue says:

    I always shake the bananas to dislodge and potential critters. A good friend of mine worked @ Sobey’s Produce (Cole Harbour, NS) for years. She said that spiders and other creepy crawlies were frequent hitch-hikers in the produce and flowers.

  91. Sandy says:

    I don’t break bananas or sift through grapes and only cherry picks when they are not packaged.

    I do pick through my eggs, sometimes, especially if one is cracked.

  92. luv2teach says:

    How else are your supposed to use the coupons for three pounds of free bananas? Break away my friends!

  93. SuperM says:

    I dont typically break bananas – but look for broken ones already. it there arent any small bunches, then yes, I do break, but I never take a group of 4 and break off only one – that to me is lame!

    I always sample my grapes though. My grandma always did this too. They are so expensive and if you bring home a sour bunch – YUCK! So I always try ONE!

  94. sara says:

    When I break bananas I never leave singletons. I feel bad for the lonely fruit that remains unwanted.

    Unless there’s a sign stating otherwise I will only choose the quantity of grapes, cherries or bananas that I require.

  95. abddul says:

    its because some people *ahem ahem* break off the bad ones. Then it does not sell

  96. Tracey H says:

    I break banana bunches if there aren’t 2 or 3 already broken off by someone else. I check egg cartons and don’t buy ones with cracked eggs. I should just replace the broken egg from an open carton left by someone else who’s rejected a carton with another broken egg. Has anyone every ripped a carton in half to buy half a dozen eggs? We once lived with only a mini-cube fridge and I always bought 1/2 dozen eggs that way (after asking if it was okay at the local store–it was).

    As for ears of corn, you really only need to look slightly inside the non-stem end. If the kernels are even, the whole cob will be good. I microwave my corn on the cob without removing the husks so I hate it when I can’t find an unhusked cob! By the way, that’s the easiest (and, IMO, tastiest) way to cook corn. Once it’s cooked (about 3-4 minutes/cob), saw off the stem end and the husks and silks just fall off.

  97. cutie says:

    I’m a banana, grape, ginger etc breaker. The bad ones can be return back to the seller so they won’t loss money.

  98. luv2teach says:

    I’ve seen the bad ones end up on the “clearance” shelf and I have purchased them as well for making cheap yet delicious banana muffins/ cookies. YUM!

  99. Kara says:

    I am a banana breaker but I also buy the ones that have been broken.

    I also take grapes out of a bag if necessary. We can’t eat the portions of grapes the way they bag them and I am not paying for something I don’t need.

  100. emma says:

    hahaha. And I thought I was bad! I didnt know that there are so many people breaking bananas, picking eggs, grapes, asparagus, etc. Love you all!!!

  101. Stephania says:

    My fav yogurt was on sale today. The expiry date was in 2 days, HOWEVER, there were skids just sittin’ in front of the fridge.

    So I grabbed a “newer” yogurt from there. It won’t review for another 2 weeks!

  102. Phaoxx says:

    I use to work in a grocery store and it seemed as if everyone broke the bananas apart. We didn’t care. I use to buy one single banana on my break too.

    The weird one was when I had a lady come through with green peppers that she had taken the core out of. She said she didn’t want that part and since it was an item that got weighed she took it out. I let it through and later asked the store owner what to do if I saw that again. At first the store owner said it was fine but then later on came back and said not to let it through and to call her if I ever saw anyone do that again. Weird.

  103. rob says:

    Grocery stores should just get the whole bundle, hand it so its easy to see all the bananas and customers break off whatever they want, as long as they don’t break off a dozen of them just to buy 2

  104. Rockin' Kitty says:

    I’m a guilty party!
    I’ve even seen some people break them apart, then not even purchase them :/

  105. Martha says:

    I have never seen a sign like this haha! I think it’s funny and yes, I have broken bananas!! D: but I will also buy bananas that have already been broken apart, I really don’t mind if I see a lonely one 😀

  106. Asdf! says:

    My logic has always been that the stores are afraid of careless people who might badly bruise the bananas when breaking them apart, and make them unsellable.

    I don’t break bananas, I just pick the smaller bunches with two or three.

  107. Megan Havers says:

    I work at a grocery store where we don’t do reductions. Every banana you break off and leave as a single gets thrown out the next day. It’s just wasteful. We usually keep our singles and doubles at the top for your convenience. I wish we reduced but because we don’t, I get the whole “don’t break the bananas” thing.

  108. cabshiraz says:

    While I gently break some bananas (if there are no lone ones around) because I only eat a couple. But I have seen people molest the fruit or vegetable roughly to the point no one would want to buy it and I think that is wrong. If you damage it, you really should pay for it. I think alot of it has to do with RESPECT. Some people don’t care about being a pig and destroying a product because they are not paying for it. They don’t care if they make a mess either! I personally don’t like corn on the cob. But I hate the mess people leave behind because they are tossing away the husks. And the store is the one who gets blamed for having a messy area. It’s truly shameful.

  109. Amber says:

    They don’t want you breaking the bananas because the bigger the bunch together, the longer they last, respectively, the smaller the bunch, the quicker they go brown. Simple as that… they can’t sell brown bananas…

  110. HistoryBuffett says:

    As for ‘Iamperfectforme’s post, European’s are more aware then we are of how easily an illness can spread and how unhygenic people can be. I work in the public sphere and I can tell you with 100% certainty (and references if you like) that your idea of hygene is NOT someone else’s. Hygene is not a universal concept, still today. I shower daily, but I have met many people who obviously think of it as a weekly or bi-weekly (if even that) thing to do. I will go ahead and assume that these same people also don’t wash their hands after they use the washroom. Would you like to sink your teeth into an apple or pear, assuming it was washed or forgetting that you didn’t (I wash everything before it goes into the fruit basket but my husband usually only says he does, I have learned) after these people have fondled it? I don’t think so.

    Also, Europeans have experienced the plague a few times in their long history, we have seen nothing on that scale, so I get why they are a little on edge about it. People in shopping masses are disgusting and often very violent with produce.

    I do not personally break Banana’s since one way or another they get eaten, and it gives me a good excuse to nag the carnivores in the house to eat the fruit before it goes bad. But even when I was single, I’d get a smaller bunch (maybe from one of you who only takes the one?) and just make a point not to waste it.

    When it comes to the other stuff, I will look at corn and anything loose I pick through being careful to give the item a good once over with my eyes before I decide to handle it, but bags of grapes and pepper tops? Where do you people find the time? I would feel like I was being seen as stealing (and I kind of see you all as doing so too, especially if grapes are sold at a per bag price like they are at my local stores) to pull out all the grapes and stuff my bag full or fill the box of tangerines fuller than it was (plus that just makes the bottom ones bruise from the added weight) when I came to it.

    I get not wanting to pay more but stems? What does that cost you? Pennies? I would feel shady and like I looked pathetic for standing there doing that, plus the cashier is right, the store paid full price on all weight, why should they get to eat your stems? Stores aren’t big corporations who wipe their bums with twenties, they are local folks (I’m not in a big city so maybe in To they aren’t?)who pay for their stock, so I feel that that kind of penny pinching is unfair.

    Maybe you could try taking those minutes you spend picking stems and stuffing bags full of extra produce and read to your kids (if you have them, play with your dog/cat/fish if you don’t), look at them face to face for a few extra minutes, you can be sure they think your time is more valuable than grape and pepper stems. You should think more of your time than that too, money isn’t all there is to life. I’m just sayin’…

  111. Jillei83 says:

    I break bananas sometimes, when i don’t need a full bunch – but we usually eat a full bunch of about 8 every week. One thing i don’t know if anyone else mentioned is tomatoes on the stem/vine. I always look for a group of 2 or 3 tomatoes and would never buy a group of 5+ tomatoes just to throw them out. I always look for a portion i need first before just breaking them up though.


















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