I love bananas. That was actually fascinating. Didn't realize the history and didn't realize that they already once went extinct. That sucks. Typical corporate/big biz thinking, but still sucks. Thanks John, now what am I going to do without bananas in my Corn Flakes!?!?!
chowderSF
· 1 year ago
Nice article. I have always loved bananas and have at least one a day, and I sometimes have thought that the price for them seemed low. I never knew that there were 1000 varieties. Off to wikipedia to learn a little more about them. Thanks John for the heads up, and a nice diversion from politics.
DonQ
· 1 year ago
Koeppel's book is fascinating, not just for the history of the fruit but for the political history that accompanies it. We eat a fairly bland variety here in the U.S. mainland -- go to P.R. and you'll be blown away by the deliciousness of the locally grown banana varieties.
Hmmm . . . kinda similar to the bland version of democracy we've come to accept as normal?
phaet2112
· 1 year ago
It could end up being a serious problem for families as bananas are incredibly economical and nutritious for babies and kids without some of the costs associated with apples or oranges, besides the frequent problems with reflux from the acidity of those fruits.
If Hillary Clinton were the Democratic Nominee for President and was going to vote for the so-called FISA 'Compromise', John Aravosis and all you brain washed followers of Obama would have had her head as King Herod had John the Baptist's and called her all sorts of derogatory names. You would have been relentless in your contempt for her.
You're all a bunch of hypocrites with NO BALLS! You should all be ashamed of yourselves! You cowards!
phaet2112
· 1 year ago
Has anyone ever tried doing fried plantains with normal bananas instead of plantains?
scottinsf
· 1 year ago
I love fried plantains! Never tried frying a banana though.
OlderAndWiser
· 1 year ago
You could do it Elvis-style...banana on white bread with mayonnaise, fried in butter. : )
ndtovent
· 1 year ago
It doesn't work. The bananas are too soft for that kind of heat.. they turn mushy
Õ¿Õ
· 1 year ago
I was just thinking about some Ben & Jerry's banana ice cream. I think it's called Monkey Business. Off to get some.
On the Hawaiian Islands, a group of American sugar planters under Sanford Ballard Dole overthrow Queen Liliuokalani, the Hawaiian monarch, and establish a new provincial government with Dole as president. The coup occurred with the foreknowledge of John L. Stevens, the U.S. minister to Hawaii, and 300 U.S. Marines from the U.S. cruiser Boston were called to Hawaii, allegedly to protect American lives.
Cavendish are easy enough to grow in the back yard, in south and central Florida backyards, that is. They take lots of water though, and that's another, distinct issue. Besides, they attract ants and rats, two pestiferous critters I don't want in the back yard. Plantains are readily available, just not quite introduced into the North American diet yet. Fearless prediction: Watch for plantains as a side, a fried treat at the Golden Arches, coming in about 5 years, maybe 10.
Bobby
· 1 year ago
OT- Happy Gay Pride everybody! We had our big celebration in Providence today. There must've been 10,000 people! It was fab!
jr
· 1 year ago
John McCain ate Gros Michel bananas when he was in his 60s
I wouldn't call them missteps. I'd call them HUGE GAFFES that show he is NO DIFFERENT from Bush. He can't be trusted.
"McCain arrived aboard his chartered campaign jet, yet told reporters at a news conference, "this is not a political campaign trip." The senator added he didn't feel it was appropriate to have the government to pay "while I am the nominee of my party."
The centerpiece of the six-hour visit was a speech to the Economic Club of Canada that amounted to a cross-border political attack. McCain criticized Obama, without mentioning him by name, for his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"Demanding unilateral changes and threatening to abrogate an agreement that has increased trade and prosperity is nothing more than retreating behind protectionist walls," he said.
McCain's schedule also included mention of an unspecified "finance event." While that is customarily campaign jargon for a fundraiser, foreigners may not donate to U.S. candidates, and one aide was quoted in advance as saying that money from $100-per-person event would simply defray the cost of the earlier luncheon."
My God, like Bush, McCain has NO SHAME!
ndtovent
· 1 year ago
Good article, but I wouldn't worry /snark/ I'm sure big ag and science will team to create a brand new gm variety of franken-banana which is resistant to everything under the sun.
unrepentant_expat
· 1 year ago
Electrical banana Is gonna be a sudden craze Electrical banana Is bound to be the very next phase
They call it mellow yellow (Quite rightly) They call me mellow yellow (Quite rightly) They call me mellow yellow
ewastud
· 1 year ago
I recently finished reading Koeppel's book, “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World,” and would highly recommend it. I first heard Koeppel on the NPR-syndicated radio program, The Splendid Table, which is all about food and cooking. Oddly enough, what Koeppel talked most almost exclusively for the several minutes he was a guest on the program was about the political intrigues and atrocities committed by United Fruit, aka United Brands, aka Chiquita. As seemingly thorough Koeppel was in covering the political angle, I think it probably just scratches the surface of how criminal the company's activities have actually been over the decades since the 19th Century. So much of it is shrouded in covert plots involving the mafia and the CIA, with coordinating assistance of our US gov't and military, to dominate numerous Latin American countries. Other perspectives concerning United Fruit's intrigues can be found in the writings of Peter Dale Scott, John Perkins, and (much earlier) Gen. Smedley Butler. Of course, it is from the criminal machinations of United Fruit that the pejorative term "Banana Republic" was coined.
Shannon
· 1 year ago
Bananas grow wild in hawaii, and many different kinds.....they are extremely easy to grow, you practically can't kill them except by viruses which are often fatal. Long live the banana.
OlderAndWiser
· 1 year ago
Bananas are high in potassium, so I try to eat one a day. However, they've gone from 49 cents/lb to 69 cents in the last year. That's a 40% increase, my friends...wouldn't be surprised if they went to $1.00/lb soon. And the market does sell those little bananas, which cost even more.
All Comments
Hmmm . . . kinda similar to the bland version of democracy we've come to accept as normal?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q98WrVhaTg
You're all a bunch of hypocrites with NO BALLS! You should all be ashamed of yourselves! You cowards!
Later all.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/internati...
Related: The Awful Truth Behind Five Things on Your Grocery List:
http://www.cracked.com/article_15967_awful-trut...
January 17, 1893
Americans overthrow Hawaiian monarchy
On the Hawaiian Islands, a group of American sugar planters under Sanford Ballard Dole overthrow Queen Liliuokalani, the Hawaiian monarch, and establish a new provincial government with Dole as president. The coup occurred with the foreknowledge of John L. Stevens, the U.S. minister to Hawaii, and 300 U.S. Marines from the U.S. cruiser Boston were called to Hawaii, allegedly to protect American lives.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?a...
(His cousin was the pineapple guy.)
McCain hampered by campaign missteps?
I wouldn't call them missteps. I'd call them HUGE GAFFES that show he is NO DIFFERENT from Bush. He can't be trusted.
"McCain arrived aboard his chartered campaign jet, yet told reporters at a news conference, "this is not a political campaign trip." The senator added he didn't feel it was appropriate to have the government to pay "while I am the nominee of my party."
The centerpiece of the six-hour visit was a speech to the Economic Club of Canada that amounted to a cross-border political attack. McCain criticized Obama, without mentioning him by name, for his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"Demanding unilateral changes and threatening to abrogate an agreement that has increased trade and prosperity is nothing more than retreating behind protectionist walls," he said.
McCain's schedule also included mention of an unspecified "finance event." While that is customarily campaign jargon for a fundraiser, foreigners may not donate to U.S. candidates, and one aide was quoted in advance as saying that money from $100-per-person event would simply defray the cost of the earlier luncheon."
My God, like Bush, McCain has NO SHAME!
I'm sure big ag and science will team to create a brand new gm variety of franken-banana which is resistant to everything under the sun.
Is gonna be a sudden craze
Electrical banana
Is bound to be the very next phase
They call it mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow