Happy National Banana Day!!! I've been on a banana bender because my legs have been cramping (see Monday's post for reasons why) so I thought it was appropriate that today celebrates this glorious healthy berry...yes, I said berry. Explanation below.
Random Banana Fun Facts:
Bananas are slightly radioactive. (Hmm, this seems potentially problematic).
A bunch of bananas is called a "hand" while a single banana is called a "finger". (Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about this either, but I am grateful the Hooligans didn't know this and turn it into a "give the finger" joke for the duration of their adolescence).
Bananas contain seratonin, which gives people joy. (This is some news I can get behind).
Bananas float. (Didn't know that!)
Bananas are actually classified as berries (for real!) because the seeds are found inside the flesh.
Bananas were depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics. (I wonder if they were used as the original eggplant emoji? Sorry! I likely should have kept that to myself. LOL).
The oil inside the banana skin reduces the itching and inflammation from bug bites. (Take that, itch spray!).
There are over 1,000 different varieties of bananas. (I think I've only seen three, maybe four, in my lifetime).
The Latin name for banana is "musa sapientum" which means fruit of the wise men. (I'm going to go ahead and assume this includes women).
So, Reds and Readers, how many of these facts did you know and are you a banana fan or no?
Definitely a banana fan [even though I only knew one of the banana facts] . . . .
ReplyDeleteSame! It's nice that they're so versatile.
DeleteI didn't know any of those facts except "hand" (and as another mother of two boys, I'm glad I didn't know about "finger") and that there are many varieties.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer smaller bananas and buy organic when I can. They are also good for potassium, which I need every day to counter a potassium-draining med I take, so I eat one (or half a big one) daily.
Funny fact - We lived in Mali when my younger son was three, and we often stopped on our way home after a morning at school/work and bought a hand of small ones from a woman by the side of the road. John David would eat one banana in the car, but he would not eat them at home! Somehow his hunger got him over his texture-avoidance thing (which lasted until he was in high school and included anything mushy) for that limited period of time.
LOL on the boys!
DeleteI knew the radioactive part only because I recently had x-rays done (dental) and commented that the techs no longer retreated to another room when taking them. She told me the new digital x-ray equipment emits less radiation than a banana!
ReplyDeleteI love bananas. I prefer yellow with no spots for eating, but once they ripen, they go into a smoothie with some almond milk and peanut butter.
My overripe ones go into the freezer for future banana bread!
DeleteMy overripe bananas also go into the freezer. I have plenty of recipes that call for bananas.
DeleteBananas and peanut butter are a perfect pairing.
DeleteI love everything with bananas in them, banana bread, cake, cream pie, ice cream (lol, Jenn) but I don't love to eat the fruit itself.
ReplyDeleteI only knew one of the banana facts but am very happy to know them now. They will surely come in handy.
Irwin eats a banana every day. He will even eat the slightly green ones. Go figure.
I have seen many different varieties of banana but because I don't usually eat them, I couldn't tell you the difference.
I love all things banana, too!
DeleteListen, I like fruit. And of all the different fruits I've ever tried, the only one I've ever despised with every fiber of my being has been bananas. It quite literally makes me gag.
ReplyDeleteSo I will not be joining the Banana Appreciation Society anytime soon.
Jay, my Aunt Edith had the same feeling about bananas and passed it on to her daughters. My cousins were horrified when my mother put bananas on my Sugar Pops! Elisabeth
DeleteMany years ago I had to do a swallow test for a medical issue. This required me to eat various items coated with something that let the technician see how my body reacted with each item. When I was done, the woman said that everything seemed fine except when I at the piece of banana. I had to tell her that I doubted it was anything medically significant, it was just that I hated bananas and I had to force down the slice because of that.
DeleteHooligan 1's gf is the same. Can't stand them. I think it's the texture.
DeleteI can take or leave bananas- once in awhile I get a taste for one with cereal - but banana bread? With walnuts? That is a satisfying treat any time! My mom made it and so do I.
ReplyDeleteBanana bread is a comfort food!
DeleteI share my breakfast banana with my standard poodles every morning. Jazz and Louie are mad for bananas.
ReplyDeleteI always shared my banana with my dog, Sunny. Now that she is gone a regular banana is too much for me so I am eating junior bananas. Just the right size!
DeleteJudi, all of our dogs loved bananas.
DeleteThat's hilarious. I had no idea dogs might eat bananas.
DeleteExcept for “hand” and potassium, all these are new facts. I like my bananas “just not yet ripe”. My mother’s banana bread —- no walnuts, no oil — was perfect. (Other banana breads, homemade or commercial, have an unpleasant texture and taste of grease to me.) Delighted in “Yes, We Have No Bananas” … Hump Day, cheers, all. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI need mine to have a few freckles but no more than that. LOL.
DeleteI'll eat a banana a couple times a year. Banana bread is delicious, but it's a hard "no" for banana pudding or banana cream pie. Thanks for the factoids, Jenn. I did not realize they are berries! Or radioactive. The inside skin of a banana can be used to heal wood furniture somehow; I've never tried it. And the variety most often sold in the US is the Cavendish. we've had other varieties, including some that are barely 5" long.
ReplyDeleteFor our gluten-intolerant neighbor, I try to make foods that will tempt her to eat. She has a lot of health issues and can't eat gluten, or nuts, or seeds, so I have done a bit of research on gluten-free flours, and found that one of the best is banana flour. Isn't that surprising? It has no particular flavor, and it's not only pricey, but hard to find.
On our first trip to Africa we stayed at Gibb's Farm near the Ngongoro Crater in Tanzania. It's a coffee plantation, and they grow nearly all the food they serve in their restaurant, right there on the premises. We took a tour of their incredible garden. They had avocados as big as a baby's head, and they had banana trees, some in bloom, and some with ripe fruit. The flower looked like kin to Audrey of the Little Shop of Horrors, and apparently, they are edible. See for yourself: https://gardenbetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/banana-flower-blossom-02.jpg.webp
Oh, that is fascinating. I would love to see that garden!
DeleteI like bananas. I knew the hand and finger fact and think I did read about the bug bite and some furniture use before. And what a great source of potassium they are. In the past, I may or may not have passively aggressively placed my peels in the office waste basket of someone who couldn’t stand them.
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteLOL!
DeleteThanks for the chuckle 🤠(Heather Soper)
DeleteI did not know any of the banana facts, so thank you! In Mexico, we ate sweet little baby bananas with our yogurt. Yum. I only like bananas that are on the green end of the spectrum. This means I should probably eat my last three bananas today. What better way to celebrate the day!
ReplyDeleteI do love a fried carmelized plantain. Yum!
DeleteA few years ago I had to be on a BRAT diet for several weeks. Mostly I ate bananas on toast. Since then I’ve not given them up. It’s a rare day I don’t eat one, half on cereal and the other half in a peanut butter banana sandwich. They are always in the fruit bowl.
ReplyDeleteI did know about the potassium and think I’ve heard they were berries but radiation? Is this why I glow in the dark?
Ann, you glow in the dark because of all the joy you have and share! Happy Banana Day! Elisabeth
DeleteLOL! I wouldn't mind glowing in the dark, tbh.
DeleteSince I spent most of my childhood in San Juan, Puerto Rico, I ate lots of bananas growing up and also a number of different kinds, both the kind you cook (like plantains) and the kind you eat raw that are much smaller than "standard" bananas. My favorite of these smaller bananas was called an apple banana (Manzana) and it was delicious. Unlike some of you, I find standard bananas unripe and pretty tasteless when they are yellow with green stems; I wait for them to become much darker and riper before I eat them so that they have lots of flavor. And after sounding so well informed, Jenn, I confess that I didn't know a single one of the facts you listed! Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteI love plantains!
DeleteHappy Banana Day! I knew some of those facts but not all. A few years ago I had to give up banana, temporarily. Maybe for colonoscopy prep? It didn't take long for me to develop leg cramps, which was quite a surprise for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen a bunch - oops, I mean a hand - of bananas on the counter achieve just the right stage of ripeness, but not too ripe, I put them in the refrigerator. That still seems like an odd thing to me, but it does prevent them from ripening more, even though they don't look all that good.
It's true. The frig will hold them steady for a bit.
DeleteLove bananas, but really hard to find decent ones locally--they look fine, then turn brown almost immediately. In fact, we all like bananas. I knew about the hand/finger, the potassium, and the use on furniture. Not the number of varieties or that they are berries or radioactive! Now I'm wishing I had a banana. Favorite scene with a banana? Meryl Streep in Hope Springs.
ReplyDeleteOh, I have to look for that clip!
DeleteYup to the potassium. The rest... who knew?!? When my kids were babies, bananas were a staple, mashed in a hand mill.
ReplyDeleteThe right stage of ripeness is the key for me. And since I like my bananas yellow (not black/brown) and don't care for banana bread, I do have to throw away some if I buy too many.
Ah, mashed bananas. A Doctor Mom cure…Mother would served them mashed in a tiny glass bowl with a souvenir spoon, very tiny, with an Indian headdress on the handle. A cure for whatever ailed me throughout childhood. :) Elisabeth
DeleteHallie, I've seen customers, usually males of a certain age, buy single bananas on the color spectrum from green to yellow to ripeness perfection to "ugly" (spotted overripe bananas on sale, perfect for banana bread).
DeleteAlso, the banana peel soaked in water makes excellent fertilizer for houseplants!
DeleteI knew bananas were berries.
ReplyDeleteI like banana flavor, but I'm so-so on eating them. I think it's a texture thing. But I adore banana bread.
The texture is different, for sure.
DeleteI have a question. Why are they radioactive? Really radioactive? Why? Also, I love bananas, love, love, love, especially on cereal (Rice Krispies with bananas, perfection!) and banana pudding and with peanut butter. But I hardly ever eat them because they seem too fattening.
ReplyDeleteAnd so coincidental… In my new manuscript, the fact that one child hates bananas because they have a weird texture is an indicator of what a mother knows versus what a father knows.
It’s not the bananas, Hank. It’s the pudding —milk and eggs — and the peanut butter! Lol. Elisabeth
DeleteOh, I love that you worked bananas into your WIP.
DeleteI don't like eating overripe bananas. I found a banana bread scone recipe while in pandemic lockdown that I love baking. Does not taste too banana-y. I am not a fan of banana bread.
ReplyDeleteBanana scone - that is leveling up.
DeleteDid you know you can make absolutely delicious non-dairy "ice cream" from bananas and only two other ingredients? It's really easy, too. Lots of recipes online.
ReplyDeleteSo many comments about eating them less than ripe! Reminds me of a scene in James Michener's HAWAII, when the missionary's wife, newly pregnant and seasick on their long journey to the island, is forced to sleep close to a huge cache of green bananas, and also to eat them, with predictable results.
Yes, it's called "nice cream" instead of ice cream. I make a strawberry nice cream with bananas in summer.
DeleteNice cream - I love it!
DeleteKnew some but not all the facts, didn't know about serotonin or floating bananas. Floating brings a whole new image to a banana boat..... At one time Tampa was a leading port for the import of bananas. Now only Dole continues to use Tampa. The leading port is in Wilmington Delaware. One more fun fact, if you peel a banana from the bottom, there aren't as many 'strings' on the fruit. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI fed the strings to Sergeant Pepper, my little black poodle. He adores them! He also likes bites of the banana, one for me, one for him. No, he doesn’t get to bite his bites off himself. Heh
DeleteI can never ever remember to peel from the bottom.
DeleteLike Hallie, the potassium content was the only banana fact I knew. I love bananas, though.
ReplyDeleteMy sister, 11 years my senior, has been diagnosed with dementia. She also has struggled for years with sometimes intense irritable bowel syndrome. Earlier this year, she got it into her head that the doctor told her to eat three bananas a day to tame the IBS. (I have been in the room for all doctor appointments -- I would swear this was never said.) But you know what? Since she started the three-bananas-a-day plan, her IBS has actually improved a lot. I don't know if there is some actual physical reason or if it is a placebo effect, but as long as it works, we'll keep buying the bananas.
Susan, I'm sorry to read about your sister's diagnosis. Having lost my grandmother and an aunt to dementia plus being pretty sure my mom had hit the early stages before she passed from something else, it's an insidious thing I wouldn't wish on anyone.
DeleteSusan, I love that your sister's IBS has improved on her 3-bananas-day regime! Lessens her physical discomfort, improves her quality of life--who cares why it works!
DeleteBananas are famously very easy on the gut so I can see why it helps the IBS. This is what the BRAT diet is all about.
DeleteBananas, rice, applesauce, toast. Great for anytime you have a gastric upset.
Bananas are a known binder, Susan. Seems your sister still has a sense of what is right for her.
DeleteBig hugs for dealing with her dementia. One of the hardest jobs of all, but a deeply loving gift to a family member.
So sorry to hear about your sister, Susan. I love that the bananas might be helping!
DeleteThank you all so much for your kind comments. My sister never married, and as my mother aged she was the main one who dealt with Mom's needs. She was gracious and giving throughout the experience. I am happy to have the opportunity to help her out now.
DeleteI knew few if any of those facts. What I remember learning about bananas from an article years ago in The New Internationalist was how heavily pesticided the banana plantations tend to be -- causing harm to the workers and likely the eaters, too. Since that moment, I have bought only organically grown bananas but rarely do even that. Although, in a pinch, a banana makes a perfect quick snack.
ReplyDeleteIt is a perfect snack. For shame about the pesticides.
DeleteI knew about:
ReplyDelete1. Potassium
2. Hands - I think. And an individual being a finger makes absolute sense.
Well, that is a short list.
I like a sorta ripe banana and about once a year I'll crave them on a bowl of Cheerios.
I didn't know about helping with leg cramps. I get some huge ones in my calves during the night. I don't walk around enough during the day. Maybe bananas will help.
I thin they help with cramps. I know when i haven't had one the cramps definitely get worse.
DeleteRadioactive? I wonder how much radiation they give off. Hmmm
ReplyDeleteI did know they had potassium but that's it. Funny about the finger/hand!
I don't like bananas anymore so I avoid them. :(
I do have phases where I'm over them.
DeleteI knew most of the banana facts.
ReplyDeleteCoralee, I peel the banana from the bottom, which is evidently the preferred way of doing it. Those "strings," by the way, are known as phloems; they carry sugars down from the leafs.
They bananas from my childhood (and maybe yours) no longer exist. They evidently died out due to some sort of disease and were quickly replaced with a different (and less better tasting) variety, but I can't tell the difference.
Now, let me issue a challenge to the Jungle Reds (and any of their very talented readers): I think you should each write a banana-themed murder mystery, keeping them all within the bounds of good taste, of course. (PG-efforts only.) Who's up to that challenge?
Xylem and phloem. Leftovers from Botany all those years ago.
DeleteWell, we'll have to draw straws to see who gets to use slipping on a banana peel as the method of murder :)
DeleteEven more challenging, stabbed to death by a banana!
DeleteI always thought bananas were a New World discovery. But the Egyptians had them? One of the big disappointments of my life was my first banana. They weren’t available in UK until I was 3 or 4. Everyone said how they missed bananas so when I tried one… yuck! But now I eat one a day and also glow in the dark
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteThe only fact I knew, and I suppose I only partially knew it, is that the inside of the banana skin was good for bug bites. I had heard it was good for mosquito bites. It’s good to know that it’s useful for other bug bites too. Not that I plan to get bitten! I keep my distance from all those things!!
ReplyDeleteI love bananas, and have one in my cereal every day. I’ve been doing it for years. My doctor recently told me that the banana is a “perfect” food!
DebRo
I like your doctor, DebRo!
DeleteKnew about the hand, but not the finger. I also knew about the potassium, that’s why it’s frequently recommended for people who take blood pressure medication that depletes your potassium.
ReplyDeleteI like bananas if they still have some green on them. I will only buy them if they are really green because I don’t like the flavor when they are ripe. They no longer have appeal (sorry, I couldn’t resist)
They ripen so quickly that I don’t buy them very often, and if I do I will only buy one or two because otherwise they get too ripe and I can’t eat them fast enough.
The only way I like bananas is au natural I don’t care for anything else with a banana flavor.
Appeal - LOL!!!! Good one.
DeleteLove love bananas on my cereal. Though I knew that bananas were a source of potassium, the banana facts listed in your post are all new to me! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLate to post today since I am still recovering from this lingering cold.
Diana
Hope you feel better soon, Diana!
DeleteI'm not sure that I knew any of these.
ReplyDeleteI'm a banana fan. I have one every morning for breakfast, a habit from when I was growing up.
It is a breakfast staple.
DeleteI love bananas, and have been fortunate enough to taste some of the smaller, non-shippable varieties in places like Mexico and Hawai'i. The mainstream Gros Michels are good, but some of the smaller types are like candy!
ReplyDeleteThe only fact I knew about them is the "lovely bunch of ripe banana/Hide the deadly black tarantula." Thanks for the nightmares, Mr. Belafonte.
LOL! How did I not know that line?
DeleteAh ha! That's how the victim dies in a murder mystery. He's given a bunch of bananas and with a tarantula inside who crawls out at night, bites the victim then is gone by morning light.
DeleteI like bananas and buy them green so I can eat them before they get to the very ripe stage. Must be a texture thing; I like them firm and almost ripe. I know some of your banana facts, so hooray. We had a banana tree in Houston and got bananas from it but I didn't really care for the taste. Another fact for you: just because Donovan sang Mellow Yellow back in the sixties doesn't mean you were supposed to smoke banana peels.
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteQuite rightly!
DeleteThose are fun facts! I love bananas.
ReplyDeleteSame!
DeleteI like bananas and try to always have some in the house. They’re so good for you. I perfected my banana bread recipe during lockdown. I, however, did not know most of the facts you shared, Jenn. — Pat S
ReplyDeleteWe may have to have a banana bread cook off.
DeleteLately I've been eating at least half a banana a day, for health reasons--its binderness (word?). Binderosity? It's not my favorite fruit to choke down, but I made a discovery. A shake of sriracha does wonder for a banana! Lenita
ReplyDeleteOoooh, that's intriguing. I put Tajin on my mango slices. I wonder if I'd like Sriracha on my banana...hmm.
DeleteAnyone remember the Chiquita banana jingle?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.chiquita.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Chiquita-lyrics.pdf
I do! I remember it!
DeleteI do like bananas, but I don't eat them nearly enough. I need to eat them for the potassium. I was curious how much potassium you actually get from one banana, and Dr. Google says 375 milligrams, but you'd have to eat 11 bananas to get the 4.700 mg of potassium your body needs each day. I don't think most people come close to that amount. I guess I could divide up the milligrams in eating bananas, beets, cooked spinach, and cucumbers. Potassium supplements are tricky because too much can hurt your kidney function, so a doctor's advice on this is essential.
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law had a delicious banana bread recipe with a yummy glaze over it, but I haven't made it in years. I'm pretty sure it had nuts in it. Oh, and it's interesting how much some people actually hate bananas, even smelling them. I was at a friend's house the other day, and her daughter was complaining about my friend always wanting to take bananas in the car on a trip, which the daughter couldn't stand to smell. I think they worked it out to not take bananas on trips anymore.
Some people have aversions to things I can't anticipate. My son's gf hates corn, which I had never heard of before.
DeleteI love bananas and can't imagine eating them unripe! I discovered a fabulous banana bread recipe in 1981 and have baked it for my family ever since. It is the only banana bread any of us like; all others seem dry and unpleasant. It is from the original Laurel's Kitchen, and very simple. It can easily be altered for my vegan son by substituting oil for the butter. I find it online here: https://fmanos.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/old-hippie-banana-bread/
ReplyDeleteThe author has added nuts.
Thank you so much! I love a good bb recipe!
DeleteLatex allergy took away bananas, and I have had to supplement potassium and magnesium or suffer cramps; the doctor also suggested pickle juice. ;-) WW had a muffin recipe that was bananas, eggs, spices, and a tablespoon of flour. Good, and easy on the "points." I still miss bananas.
ReplyDelete--Storyteller Mary
I would miss bananas, too. Glad you found a way to get your potassium!
Delete