I WISH YOU BANANAS!

I grew up with the blue stickered bananas on the kitchen counter. One of the first recipes from my mom (still have the original copy) was for her banana bread. Bananas are iconic. Besides part of our diet they have been part of our culture. Slipping on a banana peel has been a comedy standard after first being seen in the 1917 movie The Flirt. The banana was painted by Andy Warhol and used by the Velvet Undergrounds for their 1967 album cover. Banana was used to describe a funky chopper style bicycle known for its banana seat. Bananas are featured in kids’ books and games as Curious George and Donkey Kong eternally seek to gather as many bananas as possible. And of course it is the key ingredient in an ice cream dish. Bananas have been around a long time.

Bananas a believed to originated in Malaysia and are cited in Buddhist texts in 600 BC. Alexander the Great was credited for bringing the banana from India to the western nations. In 1876 bananas were introduced to American families as an exotic dessert. Even though there are few cultivated for commercial purpose, there are about 1,200 banana varieties – blue, black, maroon, yellow. Though bananas are often shown as growing on trees, the banana “tree” is actually an herb. The banana is the fruit the world’s largest herb. Bananas are high in fiber and potassium. Because of their impressive potassium content, bananas are have been recommended by doctors to help boast potassium. One large banana, about 9 inches in length, packs 602 mg of potassium and only carries 140 calories. On average a person eats about 33 pounds of bananas a year – however the mango is the most common fruit worldwide (eaten three times more than bananas and ten times more than the apple).

Cooking with Banana

There are so many different ways to cook banana’s besides banana bread. This website provides 100 different banana recipes. They include recipes for such things as:

• Grilled Banana Boats (in the banana skin);
• Chuoi Chien Vietnamese Fried Banana;
• Vazhakka Theran( Raw Banana Sautéed in Coconut);
• Beef Pochero with Eggplant Sauce and Cavendish Bananas; and
• Banana Nut Martini.

Banana Protection Equipment

There also are things that you can buy to help you keep your bananas safe or to cut them evenly for your salads. There is the hanging banana holder which keeps them from being bruised on the counter. To provide for safe travels there also is the Bananas Saver or the Banana Bunker. This helps prevent your banana from being bruised in a backpack or lunch bag. It is a hard yellow, banana shaped hard case to hold one banana. There also is the Banana Slicer which helps to ensure that your bananas are sliced at the same size making for beautiful salads. Yes, I do actually own one.

That’s Bananas!

• Carved bananas sculptures
• Tattooed banana skins
• Banana Car
• International Banana Club Museum – You can become a member too.

I will leave you with this great video clip from Despicable Me. My mom sent this to me with a note saying, “I wish you bananas”. I too, wish you bananas.

On July 27^th it is National Banana Lover’s Day - Hold you banana high!