Bananas

I saw a show on one of those Discovery Channels a while back, and on that show there was a segment about bananas.  It seems that the bananas we eat today are not the bananas of our forefathers.

Most of the bananas that we eat in the Western world these days are Dwarf Cavendish bananas, ever since a fungus nearly wiped out the previous belle of the ball, Gros Michel.  There's been some fear that another kind of fungus is threatening the Cavendish supply.  Seems bananas are vulnerable to various fungi and blights, and there is some concern that perhaps we have a bananaless future.

Not to worry.  Even if the banana population is suddenly kidnapped by aliens, there will be banana bread at Casa de Crazy.  You see, I am eternally optimistic that the children and I will choose to snack on fresh fruit and vegetables rather than the highly processed, highly colored, highly chemical junque food that we all love so much, so I constantly buy said fresh fruits and vegetables to have on hand.  I have a funny little wooden thingy with a hook on it that lets bananas dangle above the other fruits in the bowl.  There they hang, day after day, until they turn a lovely sort of leathery black-ish brown.

I prefer to eat a banana that is bright yellow with a hint of green on the stem and creases of the peel.  Once it begins to get brown spots, I 'm not interested.  I was surprised to learn that a banana isn't properly ripe until the peel is browning.  I am content to be improper with my bananas, thank you.  The darker they get, the sweeter, but it's the texture that bothers me, not the flavor - I don't like them mushy.

So, when the bananas at the Casa have turned, I freeze them.

Given our distressingly blase attitude about fruit, I freeze a lot of bananas.  A lot. If I may be so bold as to employ a bit of hyperbole, I think I now have the equivalent to a small island nation's annual banana harvest in my freezer.  As I don't care for many other banana-inclusive foods, I use them for banana bread.  If I bake a batch a week, it would take a year or so for me to use up what I have right now, and the supply is growing as we continue to spurn healthy eating in favor of death-by-preservatives.

Oh, well - at least I know that we will not have to forgo one of our favorite baked goods for a very long time should bananas meet a sad, fungal fate.

There is a fine entry all about bananas over at Wikiwhatsis, if you want to learn more about the tasty yellow fruit and its family.

How do you like your bananas?