Japanese farmers have invented a new type of banana with edible peel using an innovative deep freezing technique.

The Mongee banana, which can be eaten in its entirety, was pioneered by Setsuzo Tanaka, technical development manager at D&T Farm in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan.

The bananas are made using a pesticide-free cultivation technique called “freeze thaw awakening”, which involves replicating a process observed in the Ice Age by keeping the fruits in temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

The extreme cold is thought to trigger a state of rapid growth in the fruit, reportedly cutting the more typical two-year cultivation period for a banana plant down to around six months.

The end result is a banana which appears normal at first glance but is much sweeter than conventionally grown fruits – plus, its peel is 100 per cent edible.