One
of the first things I do when a new topic presents itself is to go to the Oxford English Dictionary. I am not
necessarily usually looking for a definition,
because often this is obvious, but for hints as to origins and usages, or an
interesting quote, or a new reference text. Take figs, for example. Everyone
knows what figs are, right? So why go to the dictionary? Because there one can
find out that in some parts of the world (the West Indies), a ‘fig’is not from
the genus’Ficus, but from the genus Musa, that is, it is a banana, and that
it may also be the fruit of Nopalea cochenillifera
(the cochineal cactus.)
Even
where the banana is a banana, there are ‘banana figs.’ Banana figs are bananas
prepared in the manner of figs – that is, they are dried bananas. A related
idea is the nineteenth century recipe for ‘Tomato Figs’ which are tomatoes
preserved in the manner of figs – which is to say, put up in a syrup.
There
was a great deal of interest on the part of banana growers in Queensland and
New South Wales in the early decades of the twentieth century in possible
products that might be made from the highly perishable fruit. There were
numerous articles in regional newspapers on the subject, and I give you a brief
selection to show you some of the ideas that were being discussed at the time.
From
the Clarence and Richmond Examiner
(Grafton, NSW) in 1903:
The Versatile Banana.
New uses are being
found for the banana - that valuable plant which will produce 44 times as much
human food to an acre of land as can be obtained from an equal area in the
shape of potatoes.
One of the latest
novelties is "banana coffee," which is made by drying the fruit and
subjecting it to a process of roasting, after granulating it. It tastes a good
deal like real coffee, and, like many preparations of the kind evolved from
cereals, is recommended as devoid of the harmfulness commonly attributed to the
true coffee are "banana figs" and "banana raisins,"
which are appetising bits of the fruit prepared with sugar. They arc put up in
boxes and sold as sweetmeats.
From
The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers
Advocate (Parramatta, NSW) in May 1902:
The young shoots cooked
make a palatable vegetable, while the fruit boiled in its earlier green stage
is a really excellent addition to any dinner. A pleasant drink, something after
the style of cider, is also obtained from the banana by expressing
and fermenting the juice.
From
the Australian Town and Country Journal
(NSW) May 1902:
Banana bread has
been voted excellent, and is now made in Chicago, and might just as well be
made in London; or, for the matter of that, in any other place, could the flour
be obtained reasonably. When one remembers that there are large areas of the
globe where famine is more or less periodic, such as parts of Russia and India,
and that pessimistic calculations of the insufficiency of the world's supply of
wheat are occasionally indulged in, it is perhaps not altogether foolish to
take into consideration the possibility of obtaining a cheap, bountiful, and
nutritive breadstuff from the banana. Indeed, it is not too much to
assert that banana flour, as well as banana fibre, may be
reckoned among the sources of supply, at present untapped, which an
ever-increasing population, with incessantly-growing demands, may thankfully
turn to in the future, to supply its needs.
From
the Evening News (Sydney, NSW )
Nov 17, 1906:
Banana Cocoa.
A Chance For Australia.
“A cup
of banana cocoa, please!” The waitress at your favorite Cafe may
stare today when the request is preferred to her. Tomorrow she may take your
order as unconcernedly as for a glass of milk; Banana cocoa is the
last novelty on the English market, and as soon as the public gets to know that
it cannot only eat bananas, but drink them, there is likely to be a vogue
for the new preparation. Banana cocoa is made of banana flour
and cocoa, looks just like ordinary cocoa has a flavor suggestive of both, and
costs 6d a tin. Banana bread has, of course, been some tim on the
market, and a certain popularity has already been built up for it. The
principal feature of the bread is that it does not become dry after
keeping. A pound contains more nourishment and energy-producing material than
one pound of the best beefsteak. Banana flour, which
makes bread of a golden color, is manufactured from
dried bananas, and the taste recommends it to the British public. It was
manufactured in Queensland for some time, and the new demand should give
Australia a fair chance in the industry.
From
the Mullumbimby Star (NSW) March 31, 1921
A few specialties made
from dried bananas are:- Banana flour for bread, blancmange powder, ice-cream
powder, infants food, cake powder, coffee, cocoa, custard powder, jelly
crystals, health salts. The Tweed River dried bananas make excellent banana
cake and pastry flour. Lovely scones, rice buns, and madeira cakes are made
from the dried banana flour.
We
will have a little more on banana flour tomorrow, but for today, I give you a
recipe for a rather unusual banana dish, from the Evening
News (Sydney, NSW) 9 June, 1924.
Banana Omelette.
Required:
4 bananas, 5oz of butter or margarine, 4 eggs. 1 tablespoonful of water, salt,
pepper, cayenne. Peel the bananas, and cut them into slices. Melt 1 oz. of butter
In a pan, and when hot add the bananas, and toss over the fire for about 8 minutes; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
Beat- up the eggs, season, add the water. Melt the second ounce of butter in an
omelette pan, and when quite hot put In the egg mixture, stir over the fire
twice, then when just setting, put the bananas in the centre, fold over, turn
on to a hot dish, and serve at once.
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