My dear Ms AAF made the remark yesterday, after reading the last few grim diaries on food riots, that I'm writing lugubrious pieces of late and that I should occasionally show my lighter, goofier side...and that there are some good things to report about, albeit not many but some, she added. "Like what?", I asked. "I dunno, something positive, you can write just about anything...so why not a piece on your favorite person...or fruit or something."
I have been mulling over this conversation during breakfast, unable to think properly, staring into my bowl of muesli for what seemed an eternity. I began to play with the slices of banana, making a heap with the oats, and like a minor Sisyphus at work, I pushed the largest bit of banana over the mound, reflecting on the maddening nature of the peculiar punishment the Greek Gods had imposed on the king of Ephyra...when suddenly it hit me right between the eyes: write about the banana! It is a remarkable fruit, possibly the most popular of all fruits. It's a sunny fruit, one that fits with my disposition...I got up and walked to her study and told her about it. She laughed and said that I'm nuts, a diary about bananas on DKos will sink without a trace.
Well, she has a point, and she knows very well that once I have a bee in my bonnet, I go ahead and do it regardless of the outcome. Besides, what's there not to like about bananas?
Bananas are grown throughout the tropics, where they are a major source of food & income for the farmers. The banana plants are often mistaken for trees, something I did not know. Bananas are grown in at least 107 countries. In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas that are usually eaten raw. The bananas form a group of cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called plantains, and are generally used in cooking rather than eaten raw. Bananas may also be dried and eaten as a snack food. Dried bananas are also ground into banana flour.
About 75% of the fruit is water. They are quite nutritious and a typical banana has the same number of calories as a potato. A 100 gram banana contains 22.8 grams of carbohydrate, 1.1 gram of protein, 0.33 gram of fat and would supply quite a few vitamins: B6 (28%), C (15%), B5 (7%), B9 (5%) B3 (4%) B1 (2%), Potassium (8%), Magnesium (7%), Iron (2%), Phosphorous (3%), Calcium and Zinc, both 1%. It seems that a banana is far more nutritious than an apple, having considerably more protein, carbs, vitamins and minerals, and great for people who are on a diet since its sodium content is very low. In addition to the fruit, the flower of the banana plant (also known as banana blossom or banana heart) is used in Southeast Asian, Bengali and Kerala (India) cuisine, either served raw with dips or cooked in soups and curries. I have used bananas in dishes such as Gado-gado, curries, and stir-fries. The tender core of the banana plant's trunk is also used, notably in the Burmese dish mohinga, Bengali and Kerala cooking. Bananas fried with batter is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Bananas are also eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf in Myanmar where bunches of green bananas surrounding a green coconut in a tray is an important part of traditional offerings to the Buddha and the Nats. The juice extract prepared from the tender core is used to treat kidney stones.
The leaves of the banana rae very useful to a lot of cultures, they are large, flexible, and waterproof; they are used in many ways, including as umbrellas and to wrap food for cooking, carrying and packing cooked foods, and they are used to build houses in third world countries. In south India, food is traditionally served on banana leaves in homes and some restaurants also follow the practice (I have been known to serve a variety of dishes on banana leaves in the past). Some farmers prefer to grow banana plants only for their leaves. Chinese zongzi (bamboo leaves are more commonly used where available) and Central American tamales are sometimes steamed in banana leaves, and the Hawaiian imu is often lined with them. Puerto Rican "pasteles" are boiled wrapped and tied inside the leaf. Have you had enough of reading about bananas? Good, because now I can stick weak banana jokes in this piece. My feelings are far too paradoxical when it comes to bananas. I think bananas are an important food item; at the same time, I enjoy banana jokes. Someone falling over on a banana skin and getting up is slapstick hilarious. We say someone has gone bananas when he doesn’t make sense. And don't get me started on banana republics!
Why are bananas never lonely?
Because they hang around in bunches.
What did one banana say to the other banana? Wanna' get bunched?
Why did the banana cross the road? It a peeled to him.
What did the banana say to the ice cream? Wanna' split?
Mother Banana: Why didn’t you go to school today? Little Banana: Because I didn’t peel well.
Why is a banana peel on the sidewalk like music? Because if you don’t C sharp you’ll B flat.
What’s yellow and flashes? A banana with a loose connection.
What would you call two banana skins ? A pair of slippers.