National Banana Day

National Banana Day is an annual celebration held on the third Wednesday of April every year. Be it yellow, green or red, bananas of any kind are certainly a fruit that was once loved around the globe.

Bananas are a universally popular fruit and are also eaten by everyone regardless of young or old and without teeth. The soft and sweet texture of bananas is said to have most of the health benefits. Bananas can be cooked as a dish and can also be processed in any part of the meal. Bananas are also the most widely consumed fruit with nearly 100 billion bananas being eaten each year around the world. For all these different reasons, bananas have had a special place in the year with a special day dedicated to them. So people who like to eat bananas in different forms can celebrate National Banana Day.

History of National Banana Day

National Banana Day is appeared firstly in Ireland in 2017. It is promoted by Fyffes, a company that imports fruit and fresh produce, and has been promoted by other fruit companies such as Dole Food Company and Chiquita Brands International acknowledged. It supports a national effort to encourage healthy eating, especially for children, and reminds shoppers to think of bananas as a nutritious and natural food they can add to their meals or eat as a convenience food. It also highlights the very interesting and versatile banana.

Bananas become the most popular fruit in the United States in particular and all over the world in general. The average person eats about 100 of them a year, worth about 25 to 33 pounds. They are the cheapest fruit and also one of the most perishable. They can grow on trees, but actually grow on trees with trunks 10 to 20 feet tall. The banana tree is an herb - actually the largest of the herbaceous plants and the banana is its fruit. The tree grows in the tropics.

Each banana is about 100 calories and contains a lot of fiber and potassium, so it is very good for the treatment of high blood pressure, ulcers, calcium loss and some cancers. Bananas are rich at manganese, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. There are more than 1,000 varieties of bananas, but the most widely eaten in the United States is Cavendish. Gros Michel was once most commonly eaten, but in the 1950s it fell victim to a fungus that plagued Panama, so farmers had to turn to Cavendish.

Bananas are the oldest cultivated and likely first domesticated fruit in Southeast Asia. Centuries later, shortly after arriving of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere, they were moved from the Canary Islands to Hispaniola. They then spread to other islands, before making their way to the mainland. They did not become popular in the United States until the late nineteenth century. In American cities in the early twentieth century, they were so popular that banana peels littered on the ground that became a nuisance needed to be found the solution. This led to the banana peel slide gag, which frequently appeared in early films.

Bananas were popularized in part by the United Fruit Company, which was founded in the late 19th century, and is known today as Chiquita. They encouraged people to eat bananas with milk and cornmeal, and they ran banana recipe books up until the late 1950s. These books often contained adventurous recipes and were intended to make people happy to eat bananas at every meal. They consider bananas not only as something sweet, but also as something similar to a vegetable, like potatoes. An example of a recipe from the book is banana ham with cheese sauce.

Today, bananas are still eaten in many different ways. In addition to being simply enjoyed, they can be fried, can be put on sandwiches, and can be used in pies, puddings, muffins, breads, and cakes among different things. Although they can be eaten in many ways, eating them plain or in a healthy recipe is the preferred way to enjoy them on National Banana Day!

Some reasons for National Banana Day being loved

It's the perfect shareable dessert

Usually served with 3 scoops of ice cream, fudge, whipped cream, one banana cut in half, and one cherry, this dessert is the perfect family dessert.

You have a lot of choices

Choose your ice cream flavor and toppings. Put chocolates on top and slice your bananas in different ways. This dessert offers endless flavor combinations so you can tailor the banana split to your own unique (and delicious) taste.

It's an old fashioned dessert

For decades, banana cups have been a family favorite in ice cream parlors and soda bars across the United States. Perhaps because the snaps of bananas have revived that childhood nostalgia, helping us to find joy in simple, old things like ice cream, tet cakes, bananas.

How to celebrate National Banana Day

Celebrating Banana Day seems like a great time to get creative and have loads of fun! After all, there aren't a lot of holidays that you can go out and have fun with some fruits, therefore, why not take some bananas and enjoy some bananas today? Consider these ideas to celebrate Banana Day:

Make a banana dish

Get creative in the kitchen and enjoy what monkeys have known for a long time – bananas are a great food! Try these delicacies to eat alone or share with friends:

Banana split. A classic American tradition, banana splits use half a banana, some scoops of ice cream (usually vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry), and toppings like hot fries, whipped cream, nuts and cherries.

• Banh my handle. Although they bake faster when made into muffins, there's something special about thick warm banana bread! Regardless of their shape, this is a great way to use bananas that are slightly overripe or brown.
• Flambe Banana. This French Caribbean dish is made from peeled halves of a banana, fried in oil, then topped with rum and sugar. Let serve with some vanilla ice cream.
• Chocolate covered banana. Arrested Development character's inner channel (Bluth family, anyone?) By freezing some bananas and dipping them in chocolate – more nuts!

Hold a banana party

It's not difficult to decorate with a banana theme! Just make sure everything is yellow and green, including the paper plates, napkins, balloons, tablecloths, and spreaders.

For an activity that doubles as a snack, offer a chocolate dipping station (aka fondue) or chocolate fountain where guests can dip banana slices. For extra fun, provide other items for dipping, such as sprinkles, mini candies, or mini marshmallows.

Other dishes that can be served at a banana feast include banana muffins or banana bread (same recipe, but muffins are a bit easier to serve), banana cake, banana ice cream, banana split or banana pudding.