Bananas

Bananas are Australia’s most popular fruit and we eat more than one billion each year!

Not surprisingly bananas are our number one fruit crop, grown mostly in Queensland and northern New South Wales. There are hundreds of different types, but Cavendish and Lady Finger varieties are the most widely consumed. You can buy bananas all year round, but they’re at their best price now and in summer.

Cooking

Bananas are nature’s convenience food – they’re easy to peel and eat, and are a good snack size. While they’re usually eaten raw, they taste great when they’re barbecued or baked – try adding one to your favourite pudding or dessert.

Nutrition notes

Satisfyingly sweet, bananas are packed with fibre, vitamins B6 and C, the minerals magnesium and potassium and they’re fat free.

Buying

Look for firm, shiny skin without any blemishes.

Storing

If you want to slow down ripening, keep bananas away from avocados, apples and other fruits that will speed up the ripening process. Store bananas at room temperature and out of direct sunlight.

Preparing

Just peel and eat. If you want to avoid the stringy bits, peel them the way that monkeys do – from the bottom up.

Enjoying

• Make a Thai-style prawn salsa by stirring together a sliced banana with a small handful each of chopped coriander and mint leaves, a quarter of a cucumber, peeled and cubed, one small red chilli, sliced, and some cooked prawns. Drizzle with the juice of a lime, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce and a sprinkling of brown sugar and enjoy with some fresh bread.
• Mix a fragrant Indian-style lassi (yoghurt drink) by whizzing together a banana with milk and low-fat vanilla or banana yoghurt, a little rose water and some ice cubes.
• Bake bananas on the barbecue or in the oven until the outside is blackened. Carefully open up the fruit and add a little good-quality grated chocolate. Enjoy with some low-fat vanilla yoghurt, ice cream or custard.
• Top a bowl of low-fat rice pudding, porridge or custard with a sliced, ripe banana and microwave until warm; serve with a dusting of cinnamon.