The Weigh-In

As I have recently been praising the hard-boiled egg, it seems worth comparing it with a food which I previously regarded as basically perfect. I speak of the banana. Now, there's no need to determine one better than the other, as it's not a zero sum competition. We are all winners for the constant availability of both. Even so, it's worth figuring when one is the better option if both can be had. I here humbly offer my analysis.

Both are viable for all three meals of the day, but only at breakfast would I call the egg a valid meal-in-one. For lunch and dinner, it really has to be part of something larger. It could be in a salad, for example, and that's really it. It's limited in that sense, and here one might argue that the banana has the edge. The banana works for breakfast (or as a larger part of a more complex one), and also is suitable as a dessert to both lunch and dinner. I'd call this category a wash.

For taste, the banana has the more exciting flavor. The egg can be bland, particularly in repetition. I don't think that it's cheating, however, to count deviled eggs as the same thing. Those are awfully tasty, if somewhat less durable. Durability is not to be discounted as an important factor. The eggs can last longer, although the clock starts ticking faster once they are cooked, I think. They do last longer, though. The bananas go quick, and what's worse is that they don't begin good if you do as I do and buy them less than ripe so that there's no hurry.

At the moment, I give the overall edge to the egg, but perhaps that's a passing feeling. The banana has been on top in the past. As I said, though, why choose one for all time? We are truly blessed to have at our disposal egg and banana, and time spent arguing needlessly over their merits is time lost in the great pursuit of eating as many eggs and bananas in as great a variety of inventive ways as possible. You may rest assured that our rivals on this planet will not make that mistake, and we can hardly afford to lose ground to them in the areas of protein and potassium. Consider that.