The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century. And, as you know, you can't cut up a banana and, you know, let it sit for a few hours and serve it. And there have been some other banana historians who've uncovered old recipes that show bananas must be cut and served in foil, anything to disguise their shape. But this was a Victorian era, and the idea of eating a suggestively shaped banana was considered pretty uncouth.

That's where it sort of had its coming out party to the masses. 'The banana was introduced at the 1876, actually in Philadelphia, at the Centennial Exhibition. On the introduction of the banana in the United States But they're quite inferior, although they're still better than Cavendish.' They're a red banana, and you do see some red bananas in gourmet stores here, which are related to the Lacatan. And it's the - you know, banana enthusiasts, such as they are, many of them believe it's the best tasting banana in the world, and I would have to agree with that.

'There are some amazingly delicious bananas out there. Today's version has made its way from Asia to Australia and is predicted to afflict banana fields in Latin America and South America within the next 10 years. That fungus 50 years ago was a different strain. 'And what's really interesting is that the banana that's being struck was one that was believed to be and selected to be resistant to this fungus after the earlier banana crop, the one our grandparents ate, was destroyed by the same fungus about 50 years ago.' 'What's happening with bananas is that they are being struck by a fungus called Panama disease that is incurable and that pretty much wipes out banana plantations within a matter of years,' Koeppel says. In the 20th century, he examines the United Fruit Company's maneuvering in the 'banana republics' of Central America, and warns that the banana's unique reproductive system - each new fruit is a genetic duplicate of the next - makes it especially susceptible to epidemics. Koeppel traces the ubiquitous yellow fruit back to the Garden of Eden, where, he argues, it, not the apple, was the 'forbidden fruit' that Eve offered Adam. Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, gives us a primer on the expansive history - and the endangered future - of this seedless, sexless fruit. This interview was originally broadcast on Febru.Īmericans consume more bananas than apples and oranges combined. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Banana Subtitle The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World Author Dan Koeppel

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