Bananas And Breakfast

Bananas are the most convenient fruits to eat. You don’t have to wash or cut them. Just peel a banana and eat it. It is so easy and convenient to eat bananas, that my number one fruit for my little granddaughter are bananas. Bananas in our country are not expensive as they are grown locally. I eat bananas almost every day. Bananas and breakfast are my wife’s favorite. I call it the fusion breakfast. Two bananas, toasts with butter and kaya (coconut custard jam), and a glass of fresh ginger tea, make a complete healthy breakfast. Take a look at the photo on the right.

There are many varieties of bananas in our country. As for the temperate countries, I think there is only one variety available, and that is the Cavendish.

Bananas are tropical fruits. They are mostly found in South and South-east Asia, the area where I live. Our local bananas come in all sizes, from the very small to the big ones. The photo on the right shows one of my favourite varieties. They are just right and ripe to be eaten, with black spots. That’s why only two left! These bananas ripen naturally unlike those bananas exported to temperate countries. We are very fortunate to have bananas freshly plucked from the plants. The bananas are usually plucked just when they appear to become ripen with a lighter greenish color. As they are local fruits, we are spoilt for choices. Each variety tastes different. So we really get to enjoy eating bananas with different aroma and taste.

For readers from temperate countries, I can safely assume that the only banana variety that you get to eat is the “Cavendish” variety. Cavendish bananas have perfectly formed shape and are aromatic, very suitable for export. They are plucked very green and packed in international-standard cardboxes as shown in the photos on the right. All the banana exporters around the world use these international-standard boxes.

When I was living in Auckland, New Zealand, many years ago, I operated a fruit and vege shop. The only variety of bananas was the Cavendish. Take it or leave it; sorry no other variety available. The bananas came in those international-standard boxes. All the bananas were dark green, not ripen. The boxes of green bananas would undergo a process of gassing, and the bananas would “ripen” into a beautiful bright yellow ready for eating. Ethylene gas would be sprayed into the boxes to induce rapid ripening. Those beautiful bright yellow bananas you see in your supermarkets are actually artificially-induced ripe bananas!

The green bananas which were not gassed, would not ripe into the bright yellow color, but turned into dull light green. In New Zealand, green bananas were bought by the local Maoris and the other Polynesians for cooking.

By the way, over-ripe bananas can be used to make banana cakes and banana jam.

Bananas are rich in vitamins B6 and C, manganese and potassium. As far as I am concerned bananas are nutritious fruits. That's it. However, there are others who claim that eating bananas can have the following benefits: reduce depression, prevent anemia, reduce risk of blood pressure and stroke, increase alertness, reduce constipation, cure hangover, relieve heartburn, reduce intestinal disorder, reduce effects of nicotine withdrawal, and many others.

Before I end this article, you can try this remedy for insect bites. I have not tried it yet. If you suffer irritation/itchiness from insect bites, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of the banana skin. Apparently, this will reduce swelling as well as irritation/itchiness. I must try it the next time.

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