Banana

Bananas are the fruit of Musa acuminata. Acuminata means long-pointed or tapering, not referring to the fruit, but to the flowers giving birth to the fruit. Bananas are in the shape of a long curving cylinder. The bottom end narrows to a point and the top end has a thick stem that attaches the fruit to the inflorescence stalk. A small group of bananas is termed "hands". Hands are collectively known as "bunches". Banana skin is smooth and thick, and often has a few vertical ridges that run the length of the fruit. The flesh is creamy white and soft.

History

Portugese sailors brought bananas to Europe from West Africa in the early fifteenth century. Its Guinean name banema, which became banana in English, was first found in print in the seventeenth century.

The original banana has been cultivated and used since ancient times, even pre-dating the cultivation of rice. While the banana thrived in Africa, its origins are said to be of East Asia and Oceania.

The banana was carried by sailors to the Canary Islands and the West Indies, finally making it to North America with Spanish missionary Friar Tomas de Berlanga.

The yellow sweet banana is a mutant strain of the cooking banana, discovered in 1836 by Jamaican Jean Francois Poujot, who found one of the banana trees on his plantation was bearing yellow fruit rather than green or red. Upon tasting the new discovery, he found it to be sweet in its raw state, without the need for cooking. He quickly began cultivating this sweet variety.

Soon they were being imported from the Caribbean to New Orleans, Boston, and New York, and were considered such an exotic treat, they were eaten on a plate using a knife and fork. Sweet bananas were all the rage at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, selling for a hefty ten cents each.

Banana and Health

Banana and longevity. Folk physicians of ancient Persia and India regarded this golden fruit as natures secret of perpetual youth. Even today, banana is known to promote healthy digestion and create a feeling of youthfulness. It enhances calcium, phosphorous and nitrogen retention which in turn helps in the regeneration of healthy tissues.

Banana (or Plantain) health food. The banana is of great nutritional value. It has a rare combination of energy value, tissue-building elements, protein, vitamins and minerals. It is a good source of calories since it is rich in solids and low in water content as compared to any other fresh fruit.

Banana for energy. A large banana supplies more than 100 calories. It contains a large amount of sugar that can be easily assimilated by the body. This makes it a good source of quick of quick energy and an excellent means to recover from fatigue. The use of bananas has been found beneficial in the treatments of several medical conditions such as intestinal disorders, constipation, arthritis, gout, anemia, allergies, kidney stones, tuberculosis and urinary disorders.

Food Fruit