Good Taste / May 2007
Have a Banana
Few snacks are a better quick fix for flagging energy levels than a banana. With three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose - a banana offers instant and sustained boosts of energy. They have no fat, cholesterol or sodium but contain more starch than sugar. Affordable and available year round, they allow cooks on even the tightest budget the opportunity to serve easy, elegant dishes.
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and help in anemia. High in fiber, they are a natural alternative to laxatives. Like most fruits, banana are high in potassium and low in salt so may be a healthful aid against high blood pressure. Bananas contain a rich supply of vitamin B6, significant in the synthesis of immune system antibodies, protein metabolism, red blood cell formation and function of the central nervous system.
A banana-honey milkshake is a common cure for hangover, and bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body to help heartburn. Bananas may help people quit smoking, since their high levels of certain vitamins help relieve effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Bananas come in a handy protective wrapping and contain trypotophan, a protein related to relaxation and improved mood, making them a feel-good finger food. A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as…fingers. The word ‘banan’ is Arabic for finger. Bananas are the world’s best-selling fruit, outranking apples and oranges. The average American eats over 25 pounds of them each year.
Bananas don’t grow on trees. They’re actually giant herbs of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms. The 4th largest fruit crop of the world, bananas are grown in every humid tropical region in temperatures around 80°F with plenty of rainfall. The plant needs 10-15 months of frost-free conditions to produce a flower stalk and reaches its full height of 15 to 30 feet in about a year. The banana plant trunk is made of sheaths of tightly wrapped, overlapping leaves. Some banana trees continue producing up to one hundred years, though most banana plantations renew their stock every 10-25 years. Because the banana stalk isn’t woody and is 93% water, even moderate winds can blow down a plant. Severe windstorms can destroy acres of plants in minutes.
Each banana plant bears only one stem of fruit. To produce a new stem, only two shoots - known as the daughter and granddaughter - are allowed to grow. When leaf formation is completed, a flowering stalk emerges and the developing bud reveals banana blossoms. Each female blossom becomes an individual banana.
The conventional banana plantation design contains an average of 1,800 plants, or production units, per hectare. A production unit is one “mother” plant and one “daughter” plant. The normal interval between harvests of mother and daughter plants is 8 to 10 months.
Harvest starts when bananas are still green. Then it’s a race against time, from harvest to delivery of the retail seller in just 20 days. The hands are removed, washed, cut in smaller pieces called clusters, packed and precisely arranged and padded to prevent bruising. Banana boxes are loaded into refrigerated containers, driven to the port, then loaded onto a ship within 24-48 hours after cutting and maintained at 58 degrees throughout their voyage. When bananas reach their destination port, they are ripened in temperature and humidity controlled rooms before being shipped to produce departments for consumers.
Although available year round and harvested somewhere every day of the year, bananas aren’t grown commercially in the continental US. India is the world’s leading banana producer with 6.2 million metric tons. But Americans never see Indian bananas because India consumes virtually all it produces. The same is true of Brazil, the second leading producer. Ecuador, the Philippines, Colombia and China are the other major banana producing nations. Americans get their fruit from Latin America, especially Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico.
There are five types and more than 500 varieties of bananas in the world. Most common in the US is the Cavendish, a shorter, stubbier plant than earlier varieties, developed to resist plant diseases, insects and windstorms better than its predecessors.
Bananas may have been the earth’s first fruit. Now the fun, healthy food is eaten fresh, frozen, grilled, fried, baked, stewed or served in salads, deserts, and of course, daiquiris and margaritas.
An old fashioned banana pudding with vanilla wafers and the French Quarter’s flaming Bananas Foster remain two of the most flavorful ways America chooses to eat their favorite fruit. PL
Basic Banana Fritters
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup water
4 firm bananas
5 cups vegetable oil
In a large bowl combine 1 cup of flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Gradually blend in water and beat with whisk until smooth. Cut each banana crosswise into 3 pieces, 12 pieces altogether. Coat bananas with remaining ½ cup of flour. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Dip banana pieces in flour water mixture, coating well. Cook 4-6 pieces at a time until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Banana Sunflower
Seed Cookies
½ cup oil
2 very ripe medium bananas
½ cup sugar
1½ cup flour
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and mash bananas. In large bowl, beat oil, bananas, and sugar. Mix flour with sunflower seeds and soda. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Yields about 3 dozen cookies.
Baked Bananas With Brown Sugar
4 firm bananas
1 TBSP plus 2 tsp melted butter
salt
2-3 TBSP firmly packed brown sugar
Preheat oven to 375°. Peel bananas and place in well greased baking dish. Brush generously with butter and sprinkle lightly with salt. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over bananas. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until bananas are tender.
Honey Baked Bananas
6 bananas
2 TBSP melted butter
2 TBSP lemon juice
¼ cup honey
Peel bananas, halve lengthwise and place in shallow baking dish. Mix together melted butter, lemon juice, and honey. Brush mixture on bananas. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes, turning 3 or 4 times. Serves 6 to 12.
Banana-Coconut Fritters
Oil, for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus ¼ cup tablespoons for dusting
¾ cup beer, approximately
½ tsp baking powder
1⁄8 tsp salt
4 bananas, cut in ½-inch slices
1⁄3 cup shredded coconut
powdered sugar
Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350°. Combine 1 cup of flour, the beer, baking powder, and salt to make a good thick batter which will coat the bananas. Thin with a little more beer or thicken with a little more flour if needed. Dust banana slices with remaining flour, shaking off excess. Dip banana slices into batter, then roll in coconut. Fry in batches, about 4 banana slices at a time, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove fritters with strainer or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Dust generously with powdered sugar and serve warm. Serves 3-4.
Bananas with
Vanilla Rum Sauce
4 medium firm, ripe bananas, peeled and split lengthwise
2 TBSP butter
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
1 to 2 tablespoons light rum
Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add sugar; stir until melted. Add bananas; sauté for about 10 minutes, until just tender, turning once. In a medium bowl, stir together ice cream and rum. Remove bananas to a serving dish, spooning brown sugar juices over them. Serve with ice cream and rum sauce. Serves 4.
Tropical Turkey
1 package chicken coating mix
2 TBSP butter
1/3 cup orange juice
1 TBSP cornstarch
2 pounds turkey parts, cut in pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden rum
4 small bananas, cut in half
Coat turkey pieces with coating mix according to package directions. Arrange in a single layer in 8-inch baking dish. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
In a medium skillet, melt butter. Add sugar, stirring constantly until melted. Stir orange juice and rum into cornstarch; whisk together and gradually add to sugar mixture. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and clear, about 3 minutes. Add bananas and cook until heated through (about 1 minute). Place baked turkey on serving plate; pour banana sauce over turkey and serve.
Curry of Veal with Bananas
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 TBSP curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ginger
2 oz. margarine or butter
2 lbs. veal cut in 1 inch cubes
1 lb tomatoes cut in 1 inch wedges
1 cup water
4 slightly green bananas, peeled and cut in 2 inch lengths
In a 4-quart saucepan, saute onion, curry powder, salt, pepper and ginger in margerine or butter until light brown. Add veal and saute another ten minutes. Add tomatoes and water; simmer for 30 minutes. Add bananas, peeled and cut in 2-inch lengths. Simmer for 15 minutes longer or until meat is done. Serve with cooked white rice. Serves 6-8.
Banana Butter
3 cups, or about 10 medium, bananas
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped maraschino cherries
6-1/2 cups sugar
1 bottle (6 ounces) liquid pectin
Thoroughly mash bananas. Measure 3 cups into a large saucepan. Add lemon juice, cherries and sugar; mix well. Bring to hard rolling boil and hard boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in pectin. Ladle into clean, hot jars and seal. Yields 8 - 9 pints
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