Page 65 - Port Douglas Magazine 26

QUIRKY The scientific name for banana is musa sapientum, GROWING BANANAS
which means “fruit of the wise men.”
Some cultures (most notably Japan) use the fibre in the
FACTS banana plant to make fabric and sometimes even paper. Bananas grow on plants that are officially
The Banana Club Museum, located on in Mecca,
classified as a herb (not surprisingly, the
California houses the world’s largest collection devoted
to any one fruit, with more than 17,000 banana items. world’s largest herb). They’re in the same
If you visit the local supermarkets here you might see bananas with a red wax tip. family as lilies, orchids, and palms.
You are looking at the only trademarked ‘colour on fruit’ in the world. This is the Banana plant roots can be hundreds of
produce of a local banana grower (Innisfail) and signifies the banana has been years old.
grown using a specialised organic farming method developed over 14 years that
produces healthier, creamier tasting bananas. A cluster of bananas is called a hand, and
Bananas first appeared in written history in the 6th century BC. a single banana is called a finger. Each
banana hand has about 10 to 20 fingers.
Bananas have been depicted in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
David Evans Strickler invented the banana split in 1904 in Pennsylvania. About 75% of the weight of a banana is
water.
The fastest marathon ever run by a competitor dressed as a fruit was a UK runner
dressed as a banana at the Barcelona Marathon. A few varieties of wild bananas include
bubblegum pink bananas with fuzzy skins,
green-and-white striped bananas with pulp
Bananas ripen best if the colour of orange sherbet, and bananas
they are picked when green. that taste like strawberries when they’re
cooked.
Wrapping banana stems
Refrigerating a tightly in cling wrap will
banana will turn make them last three to
the peel dark TIP-TOP BANANA
brown or black, five days longer. Elf, Bilgin aged 16 from Turkey has
but it won’t HANDLING TIPS If you peel a banana from developed a way of turning banana peels
affect the fruit the bottom up (holding on into bio-plastic.
inside. to the stem like a handle),
you will avoid the stringy Rob Watkins, a local farmer, has
Banana peels are bits that cling to the fruit developed a way to make gluten free
actually edible if To ripen bananas faster, put them in a inside. flour from discarded banana skins. The
cooked. brown paper bag. Adding another will Bananas into the Future flour has a mild, nutty taste and can be
further speed the ripening. used as an alternative to other flours.
A local company, Growcom, has
developed a green biofuel that rivals
fuel vehicles.
WHAT EATING BANANAS CAN DO FOR YOU petroleum products and can be used to

Bananas are low in calories and have plus vitamin B6. They help your HOME REMEDIES & DIY
no fat, no sodium, and no cholesterol. body produce serotonin—a natural
They contain vitamin C, potassium, substance that alleviates depression.
fibre, and vitamin B6. Rubbing peel on a forehead can help cure headaches
About half of all people who are
Research shows that eating bananas allergic to latex are often also allergic
may lower the risk of heart attacks to bananas. Help soothe insect and mosquito bites
and strokes, as well as decrease the Bananas are naturally slightly
risk of getting some cancers. Keep swelling down and minimize pain on scrapes and burns
radioactive (thanks to their potassium
Bananas are the only fruit that content). Protects wounds against infection
contains the amino acid tryptophan
Rubbed on warts every night can help them disappear

Taped over a splinter can help to draw it out
NUMBER CRUNCH! 28% India Banana peel can help to whiten teeth naturally
produces
more bananas
100 BILLION country on the planet, accounting for tablespoon of honey to the mixture to help condition dry and
than any other
Mash a banana and add a tablespoon of heavy cream and a
about 28% of the worldwide crop.
The number of Bananas damaged hair.
eaten every year in the world, A man in India once Bananas and banana peels make great fertilizer because of their
making them the fourth most 81 ate 81 bananas in
popular agricultural product. half an hour. phosphorous and potassium content.
Rubbing the inside of a banana peel on houseplant leaves makes
the leaves shiny.
SING IT! More songs 51%
have been
written Use the peel to clean and polish leather shoes
about bananas than about any of bananas are eaten for
other fruit. breakfast at home. Peel also makes a good silver polish
PORT DOUGLAS MAGAZINE 65