Bananas

Did you know a banana is a berry?

This has been a good year for bananas.  Last winter was a warm one and our bananas did not die back as they do in a "normal" year.

Bananas usually take two years to produce fruit in our area and they are not freeze-tolerant, so a mild winter is necessary for fruiting.  They will usually survive down to 28 degrees.  Frozen plants should be cut back to good growth in the spring.  Even if they freeze to the ground, they will usually return from the underground rhizomes.

Once a stalk bears, it should be cut to the ground as it will not bear again.  It is recommended that clumps consist of three plants, a large bearing-size stalk, a medium stalk, and a small shoot.  

When the banana stalk develops, the bloom at the bottom will descend, and the exposed stalk and bloom  may be cut off to encourage better development of the fruit.   Unfortunately the tree pictured is too tall to reach the stalk.  Perhaps the tree will have to be cut down to harvest the bananas.

 

If the frost threatens before the bananas are ripe, cut the stalk and ripen the bananas inside.  They will ripen inside at any time after the bananas are fully developed.  Bananas like a lot of water and a lot of nutrients.  For all you need to know about growing bananas, the difference between plantains and bananas and much more information see:  https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg040

Even if your bananas are not as sweet as those at the grocery store, they make great banana bread.  The recipe below was developed one year when the banana trees in back of the office where I worked bore 18 stalks of bananas giving a friend and I ample opportunity to test many banana bread recipes.  This was our favorite.

Banana Bread 

 1/2  cup (1 stick) butter           
1  cup sugar
2 eggs
1  Tbsp. vanilla
1  cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk (or substitute 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup sour cream)
2  cups sifted flour 
1  tsp. baking soda
1  tsp. salt
1  cup nuts, chopped

Cream butter and sugar together.  Beat in eggs, then bananas, milk, and vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients except nuts.  Add to banana mixture, stirring lightly to mix.  Fold in nuts.  Pour into greased and floured 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.   The pan should be about three-fourths full.  (Makes one large loaf, two smaller loaves or four mini loaves.) Bake at 350 degrees about 60 minutes, less for smaller loaves, until pick inserted in center comes out clean.

The flour can be white or whole wheat or a combination.  Oat bran or oatmeal pulverized in food processor is also good as part of the flour.  The sugar can be all white or half white and half brown.  (For brown, pack when measuring).  The riper the bananas, the better.  In fact, when bananas get too ripe to eat, store them in the freezer, peel and all.  When ready to use, thaw until just soft, peel and pour into cup to measure.  They look really yucky, but the banana bread they make is moist, sweet and strong in banana flavor.