tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73386196155018232232024-02-20T16:37:33.435-08:00I like BaNaNaNa-Flickzzz-http://www.blogger.com/profile/13261465805778154157noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338619615501823223.post-53121450426923284902007-07-28T01:40:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:38:21.808-08:00The History Of Bananas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPsQ2BNzxIE_o6Z2LY2q90NDf1cqrf9Xok2md6miOEFsrXBxTY5bePOV1gLs3Agy8io1yp68k0687pW1LqRR5ZaheFioSr4CIBgY09esSseDTnfbU91eSAfdoSFuV2MqB0Ql2VzGndRM/s1600-h/bananagraphic.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPsQ2BNzxIE_o6Z2LY2q90NDf1cqrf9Xok2md6miOEFsrXBxTY5bePOV1gLs3Agy8io1yp68k0687pW1LqRR5ZaheFioSr4CIBgY09esSseDTnfbU91eSAfdoSFuV2MqB0Ql2VzGndRM/s400/bananagraphic.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092165152795496786" /></a><br />The true origin of Bananas, world's most popular fruit, is found in the region of Malaysia. By way of curious visitors, bananas traveled from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali writings dating back to the 6th century BCE. In his campaign in India in 327 BCE, Alexander the Great relished his first taste of the banana, an usual fruit he saw growing on tall trees. He is even credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world. According to Chinese historian Yang Fu, China was tending plantations of bananas in 200 CE. These bananas grew only in the southern region of China and were considered exotic, rare fruits that never became popular with the Chinese masses until the 20th century.<br /><br />Eventually, this tropical fruit reached Madagascar, an island off the southeastern coast of Africa. Beginning in 650 CE Islamic warriors traveled into Africa and were actively engaged in the slave trade. Along with the thriving business in slave trading, the Arabs were successful in trading ivory along with abundant crops of bananas. Through their numerous travels westward via the slave trade, bananas eventually reached Guinea, a small area along the West Coast of Africa. By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the luscious tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the Canary lslands with their first banana plantations. Continuing the banana's travels westward, the rootstocks were packed onto a ship under the charge of Tomas de Berlanga, a Portuguese Franciscan monk who brought them to the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo from the Canary Islands in the year 1516. It wasn't long before the banana became popular throughout the Caribbean as well as Central America. Arabian slave traders are credited with giving the banana its popular name. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast Asia were not the eight-to-twelve-inch giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger. Ergo the name banan, Arabic for finger. The Spaniards, who saw a similarity to the plane tree that grows in Spain, gave the plantain its Spanish name, platano.<br /><br />It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in Pennsylvania in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Instructions on how to eat a banana appeared in the Domestic Cyclopaedia of Practical Information and read as follows: "Bananas are eaten raw, either alone or cut in slices with sugar and cream, or wine and orange juice. They are also roasted, fried or boiled, and are made into fritters, preserves, and marmalades."<br /><br />Note: The banana plant is not a tree. It is actually the world's largest herb!-Flickzzz-http://www.blogger.com/profile/13261465805778154157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338619615501823223.post-33384147871223220212007-07-28T01:37:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:38:21.989-08:00Banana Recipes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzDYEvcj5o1BBF9zSrw2JB1hs8DW_Teklr-GY4LqAnGo2Fgre2RasaNpzAK8SI89Adx4MwHC8gjaKUfR-KI2hcoG5miGBLwrPm4IitQTaM-BiKGOq7K1-eDTJX4Mkrpfk0mixrgDdmeo/s1600-h/bananabread.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzDYEvcj5o1BBF9zSrw2JB1hs8DW_Teklr-GY4LqAnGo2Fgre2RasaNpzAK8SI89Adx4MwHC8gjaKUfR-KI2hcoG5miGBLwrPm4IitQTaM-BiKGOq7K1-eDTJX4Mkrpfk0mixrgDdmeo/s400/bananabread.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092164706118897986" /></a><br />A popular dish in the Caribbean features banana fritters flavored with rum, a dish that consists of chunks of bananas dipped in flour, then into a rich batter. They are deep-fried in hot oil until golden and then sprinkled with powdered sugar.<br /><br />Panchamrutham, confections that are spiced and sweetened with honey, are a favorite in India. Other favorites of India include Sweet Banana Lassi, a sweet cooling beverage made of yoghurt and banana, and a sweet yoghurt cheese made with banana, pistachios and almonds, and spiced with cardamom.<br /><br />The Banana Split, America's classic dessert, became popular in the 1920s. Its first appearance in Pennsylvania in 1904 consisted of a banana split in half, lengthwise, two or three scoops of ice cream, a generous serving of chocolate sauce and strawberry sauce, and the traditional maraschino cherry on the top.<br /><br />Brazilians make a dessert with mashed bananas mixed with brown sugar, grated ginger, and cinnamon or cloves. This mixture is slowly cooked over low heat until it thickens. When cool, it is molded into a roll, then sliced and served cold.<br /><br />The banana flower, also called the banana heart, is stripped of its outer reddish leaves, sliced and added to salads, cooked in coconut milk, cooked into curry dishes, or added to vegetable stews throughout Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Even the leaves of the banana plant become incorporated into the cuisines of nearly all of the tropical regions that grow bananas. A banana leaf can be as long as twelve feet by two feet in width, so pieces of one leaf can go a long way. Wrapping combinations of vegetables and spices in banana leaves and steaming them is common from Central America to Java. The flavor can be described as smoky, slightly cooling, and delicately fragrant. The banana leaf also provides the ideal barrier between the pot and the wood fire, preventing many a rice dish or vegetable stew from burning. In many rural areas of the Philippines the banana leaf is almost essential where cooking over a wood fire is the only way to cook. Throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India the banana leaf is also used as serving plate, and a number of leaves double as a tablecloth. Sometimes a piece of banana leaf is twisted into a small cone and held together with a sliver to create a container for peanuts or boiled corn. A larger cone becomes that day's container for a farmer's lunch, or it might hold some rice and fish. It even doubles as a container for a take-out meal from the local Chinese restaurant. Banana leaves are also used as thatching for houses and the base for hemp-like rope. In the Philippines banana fibers are used to make paper.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Best Banana Bread Recipe</span><br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />2 cups all-purpose flour<br />1/2 cup sugar<br />3/4 teaspoon baking soda<br />1/2 teaspoon salt<br />1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped<br />3 ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)<br />1/4 cup plain yogurt<br />2 large eggs, beaten lightly<br />6 tablespoons butter, melted then cooled<br />1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br /><br />Preparation:<br /><br />Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.<br />Grease bottom only of regular loaf pan, or grease and flour bottom and sides of nonstick 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan.<br />Combine dry ingredients together in large bowl and set aside.<br />Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl.<br />Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky.<br />Pour batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.<br />Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.<br />Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for 4 days, on the counter for 2 days.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Red Snapper With Pecan-Banana Butter</span><br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />1/2 cup flour<br />2 tsp. hot paprika<br />1/4 tsp. dried thyme<br />1/2 tsp. salt<br />1/2 cup milk<br />3 Tbs. peanut or canola oil<br />Four 6-oz. red snapper fillets (you can also use catfish or haddock)<br />4 Tbs. butter<br />1/3 cup finely chopped pecans<br />1/4 tsp. nutmeg<br />Pinch salt<br />1 large firm-ripe banana, diced<br />2 Tbs. fresh lime juice<br />2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro or parsley<br /><br />Preparation:<br /><br />Stir together the flour, paprika, thyme and salt on a large plate. Pour milk into a shallow bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot, not smoking. Dip fish in milk, then flour mixture. Cook in hot oil, in batches if necessary, until browned on the bottom. Turn fillets and brown other side, about 4 minutes per side for 1-inch fillets. Remove to a platter and keep warm.<br /><br />Drain cooking oil and wipe skillet with paper towels. Heat butter over medium heat and add pecans, nutmeg and salt. Cook, stirring, until pecans are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add bananas and cook, stirring, about 1 minute or just until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Place fillets on warm plates, spoon some sauce over each and serve immediately.<br /><br />Yield: 4 servings<br />Preparation time: 45 minutes<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Brazilian Braised Chicken and Bananas</span><br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />4 lbs. chicken thighs and legs (attached)<br />1/4 cup fresh lemon juice<br />Salt, milled pepper<br />3 Tbs. oil<br />1 medium onion, chopped<br />6 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped<br />Pinch of sugar<br />1 cup dry white wine<br />1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth<br />3 Tbs. butter<br />6 firm-ripe bananas, halved lengthwise<br />1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese<br /><br />Preparation:<br /><br />Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Rub it all over with lemon juice and sprinkle well with salt and pepper. In a deep, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Brown chicken on all sides until golden brown. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Add the onion, tomatoes and sugar to pan and cook, stirring, until soft. Return chicken pieces to pan, add the wine and broth, and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and cover pan. Simmer until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.<br /><br />In another large skillet, heat butter and saute banana halves on both sides until golden brown. Arrange bananas on top of the chicken in the skillet and sprinkle them with the Parmesan. Turn heat on low, cover and cook just until cheese melts. Use a large spatula to transfer the chicken with banana on top to plates.<br /><br />Yield: 6 servings<br />Total preparation time: 1 hour<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Green Banana and Potato Salad</span><br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />2-1/2 lbs. red-skin or Yukon Gold potatoes<br />3 lbs. greenish-yellow bananas (7 or 8)<br />2 medium onions, sliced<br />1/2 cup Spanish capers, drained<br />1 cup pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives<br />3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil<br />1/2 cup white vinegar<br />1 Tbs. Dijon mustard<br />2-1/2 tsp. salt<br />1 tsp. milled black pepper<br /><br />Preparation:<br /><br />Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Cook in boiling, salted water until firm-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Peel and slice bananas into 1-inch pieces. Add bananas to the potato pot and boil 1 minute more. Drain. In a large serving bowl, layer the warm bananas and potatoes with sliced onions, capers and olives, which have been cut in half crosswise. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, then pour dressing over the salad. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.<br /><br />Yield: 10 servings<br />Preparation time: 35 minutes<br />Chilling: 2 hours-Flickzzz-http://www.blogger.com/profile/13261465805778154157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338619615501823223.post-72072914325035325392007-07-28T01:35:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:38:22.222-08:00How to Purchase And Store Bananas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYSSTM8r8X35KU0nIdssixRa7Yz7IvkAX2xzDu6f79QZbF9iowkdx5_Kq4V3K_xIRLtnCDVR7Izemk8SVrqHjgAGC4gnO75_-Ok8UbGOJRLgBjTVGY_8NDPN3cMobzCMmLZjIdfeuFZM/s1600-h/bananashopping.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYSSTM8r8X35KU0nIdssixRa7Yz7IvkAX2xzDu6f79QZbF9iowkdx5_Kq4V3K_xIRLtnCDVR7Izemk8SVrqHjgAGC4gnO75_-Ok8UbGOJRLgBjTVGY_8NDPN3cMobzCMmLZjIdfeuFZM/s400/bananashopping.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092163877190209842" /></a><br />Purchasing:Yellow bananas are available year round. Other varieties may also be available in large supermarkets, but ethnic markets are the place to shop for the exotics. Hispanic, Philippine, and Thai markets offer more diversity. There you can find red bananas, burro bananas, plantains, and occasionally Lady Fingers. Select bananas that are slightly green, firm, and without bruises. If the bananas have a gray tint and a dull appearance, these have been refrigerated, preventing them from ripening properly. Most Americans avoid purchasing plantains mainly because they do not know how to select them and what to do with them. Plantains can be purchased in any state of ripeness, from very green and firm to completely black and soft, but it is important to note that the very green ones will test your patience. Banana chips are available in most supermarkets. Because they are sometimes deep-fried in unhealthy oils, they are very high in calories. We recommend avoiding these or eating them only occasionally.<br /><br />Storing:<br />Never store unripe bananas in the refrigerator! They simply will not ripen properly because the cold interferes with the ripening process. Bringing refrigerated bananas back to room temperature will not reverse the process. However, once bananas are ripe, they can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. Take note that their skins will turn black. Give yellow-green bananas time to ripen at room temperature to a sunny yellow color, from one to three days, or they will taste astringent and be difficult to digest. Ripen plantains at room temperature. They may take up to three weeks to soften and ripen to a dull yellow color mottled with numerous black spots. Most fruits give off an ethylene gas in the process of ripening. Because bananas release a higher concentration of ethylene gas, they ripen quickly. If you've bought green bananas and want to accelerate the ripening, place them into a paper or plastic bag. Adding an apple to the bag will encourage faster ripening. To take advantage of very ripe bargain bananas, simply peel them, cut them into chunks, and wrap them in plastic. Tuck them into the freezer and use as needed for smoothies, or defrost and mash them for baking or making fruit sauces.-Flickzzz-http://www.blogger.com/profile/13261465805778154157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7338619615501823223.post-66398432956371693612007-07-28T01:33:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:38:22.432-08:00How to Grow Bananas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU3ICYJnsp5rLgN7JaFVVV2ms5CbLlqcpgvLLCnPwAlYOWmfmQO3b43SYpGNmou5pUHGUzV68QYrObhg-kfS_kkSeMfzBp0AGxtEm5syiIlY0l3hlhy6RcRXh0beGAIch0X1oI7LIBRU/s1600-h/bananatree.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU3ICYJnsp5rLgN7JaFVVV2ms5CbLlqcpgvLLCnPwAlYOWmfmQO3b43SYpGNmou5pUHGUzV68QYrObhg-kfS_kkSeMfzBp0AGxtEm5syiIlY0l3hlhy6RcRXh0beGAIch0X1oI7LIBRU/s400/bananatree.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092163301664592162" /></a><br />There are two main varieties of bananas, the fruit or sweet banana and the plantain. The fruit banana is eaten raw out of hand when it turns yellow and develops a succulent sweetness with a soft, smooth, creamy, yet firm pulp. The plantain, a cooking banana, is also referred to as the meal, vegetable or horse banana. Plantains have lower water content, making them drier and starchier than fruit bananas. Though the banana plant has the appearance of a sort of palm tree, and is often called a banana palm, it is actually considered a perennial herb. It dies back after each fruiting and produces new growth for the next generation of fruit. Bananas do not grow simply from seed. Man intervened long ago and crossed two varieties of African wild bananas, the Musa acuminata and the Musa baalbisiana, got rid of the many seeds that were an unpleasant presence, and improved the flavor and texture from hard and unappetizing to its present soft and irresistibly sweet flavor.<br /><br />Today bananas must be propagated from large rootstocks or rhizomes that are carefully transplanted in a suitable climate, namely the hot tropics, where the average temperature is a humid 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius), and a minimum of 3 1/2 inches (75 mm) of rainfall a month. The soil must have excellent drainage or the rootstocks will rot. The plants grow new shoots, often called suckers, pups, or ratoons, from the shallow rootstocks or rhizomes, and continue to produce new plants generation after generation for several decades. In about nine months the plants reach their mature height of about 15 to 30 feet. Some varieties will grow to a height of 40 feet. From the stems, that are about 12 inches thick, flower shoots begin to produce bananas. If you have never seen bananas growing, you might be puzzled that they appear to be growing upside-down with their stems connected to the bunch at the bottom and the tips pointing upward.<br /><br />Bananas possess a unique scientific phenomenon called "negative geotropism." As the little bananas start to develop, they grow downward--as gravity would dictate. Little by little, several "hands" or double rows develop vertically and form a partial spiral around the stem. As they take in more and more sunlight, their natural growth hormones bring about a most puzzling phenomenon, and they begin to turn and grow upward. As the plant becomes heavier with maturing fruit, it must be supported with poles. The stems are made of layers and layers of leaves that are wrapped around each other. Though quite large and thick, the stems are not strong and woody like most fruit trees and can break under the weight of many bunches of bananas.<br /><br />Though there are approximately 300 species of bananas, only 20 varieties are commercially cultivated. Local populations and visitors who experience the regional cuisines when they travel enjoy the many non-commercial varieties. Members of the Musaceae family, the banana plant belongs to the monocotyledons, a group that includes palms, grasses, and orchids. Bananas are mature about three months from the time of flowering, with each bunch producing about 15 "hands" or rows. Each hand has about 20 bananas while each bunch will yield about 200 "fingers" or bananas. An average bunch of bananas can weigh between 80 and 125 pounds (35 to 50 kilograms). Two-man teams harvest the bananas. While one man whacks the bunch with his machete, the other catches the falling bunch onto his shoulders and transfers it to a hook attached to one of a series of conveyer cables that run throughout the plantation. Though bananas can be left to ripen on the plant, they would perish too quickly. It is important that they are harvested in the green state at just the right time. If harvested too early, they would develop a floury pulp instead of a delightfully sweet flavor.<br /><br />Bananas begin the ripening process as soon as they are harvested, when laboratory tests have shown that they contain 20% starch and 1% sugar. When the bananas turn yellow with some brown spots, they are fully ripened, and these figures are completely reversed. The sugar content breaks down as follows: 66% sucrose, 14% fructose, and 20% glucose. After the bananas have been harvested, the giant stems are cut down to provide rich humus for the next crop that has already begun to sprout new shoots. Each plantation has a packing station where bananas are graded for quality. Those that are poor quality are sold in local markets or pureed and used as animal feed. The next step is to cut the bananas into individual hands and wash them in a water bath to stop "bleeding" their natural latex or rubber substance that tends to stain the bananas as well as clothing.<br /><br />Though there are many countries where bananas are grown, not all grow them for export. Brazil, China, India, and Thailand grow them as a local food source and export very few. The major exporters include Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras, the Philippines, Panama, and Guatemala. Surprisingly, 80% of the bananas grown throughout the world are of the plantain or cooking variety. To many tropical cultures, plantains are an important part of the daily diet and are prepared in as many ways as other cultures have devised for potatoes. Plantains may be more familiar to you as banana chips that are first dried, then fried. These cooking bananas are even employed in the brewing of beer in some areas of East Africa. Brazil and Kenya grow a unique fruit banana called Apple Banana whose flavor reminds one of an apple. This special variety is only three to four inches in length. Another special variety is the Lady's Finger, an especially small banana with a sweet, creamy texture that grows in Thailand, Malaysia, and Colombia. You can recognize the Red Banana by its reddish brown skin. The flesh inside also has a reddish tinge, and the flavor is sweet with a satin-like texture. These grow in most regions where bananas thrive.-Flickzzz-http://www.blogger.com/profile/13261465805778154157noreply@blogger.com0