The banana has been mentioned in history as far back as 327 BC when they were found growing in India by Alexander the Great. They are available all year round since they grow in a climate with no winter. They should be plump and the skin should be free of bruises or black spots. Bananas should be purchased green or at least with some green tint and alloweed to ripen at home. Did you know there are over 500 varieties of bananas. Bananas can also be purchased in a red color. Banana trees can grow 30-40 feet high in warm tropical climates.  

As soon as a banana ripens at room temperature, they should be placed in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process. The skin will turn black, however this does not affect the flesh for a number of days. Bannanas will freeze quite well for a short period of time, however they will be a bit mushy so if your going to freeze them its best to use them when thawed for things like making banana bread. Frozen banana treats are eaten frozen so this does not give them time to thaw and get mushy.

The new miniature bananas have more taste than many of the larger ones and can be consumed in the same way. Excellent spices to use on bananas are nutmeg and cinnamon.

Bananas contain less water than other fruits. They are a type of berry from a tree classified as an herb tree. Bananas are one of the first plants to ever be grown and cultivated on a farm,  

Bananas are always picked when they are green. If they are alloweed to ripen on the tree they tend to lose their taste and become mealy. The sugar content increases as soon as the banana is picked and increases from 2% to 20 %. The more yellow the skin becomes the sweeter the banana is. Brown spots are the result of the sugar reaching over 25%. The more brown the higher the sugar content. In 2008 we consumed a average of 30 pounds of bananas per person per year in the United States. Banana imports top 15.9 billion bananas a day amounting to a 5 Billion dollar a year business in the United States.