Karl-Friedrich Lentze thinks he's on to the biggest thing since sliced bread -- the straight banana. Or as he prefers to call it, the "cigar-banana."

The 56-year old social welfare recipient has developed a method to take away the yellow-skinned fruit's distinctive curve.

"Depending on the degree of the curve, chunks will be cut out of the banana, which will then be bound back together using biologically safe bandages," Lentze explained to the German tabloid Bild.

The curvy chunks won't go to waste. Lentze's plan involves either drying them or using them in fruit salad.

"After a certain introduction time, the straight cigar-banana will drive the curved banana from the market," Lentze said. "It's easier to eat, and easier to store."

Patent pending

Lentze is so convinced is of his idea's potential, that he's applied for a patent at the German Patent Office in Munich. His application is supported by sketches showing how bananas will be carried along on a conveyor belt while robots chop out the curvy bits.

If trends in Japan are anything to go by, Lentze's idea could well bear fruit. The Japanese can already buy square melons, which are grown in glass boxes. Grocers say the cubed fruit is much easier to stack.