Banana Month
- Did you know that there are over 500 different types of bananas. That means if you ate a different kind of banana everyday, it would take almost a year and a half to eat every one.
- Did you know that bananas are not just green and yellow? Some bananas are red!
- Bananas are most likely the first fruit ever to be grown on a farm.
- Bananas might have first been found in Asia.
- The first bananas to reach the United States came to New York City from Cuba in 1804. They were often sold one at a time in tinfoil wrappings.
- In the United States the most commonly eaten yellow banana is the Cavendish. It is long, plump, and golden yellow.
- In Europe the most common banana is the Canary Island banana, also called the dwarf Chinese banana. It is smaller, sweeter, and more fragrant than the Cavendish.
- Although generally regarded as a tree, this large tropical plant is really an herb. That means it does not have a woody trunk like a tree. The stalk is composed of leaf sheaths that overlap each other and grow from an underground stem called a rhizome.
- The banana plant can grow as high as 20 feet (or 6 meters) tall. Thats as big as a 2 story house.
- Bananas are almost fat free. One banana is about 99.5% fat free!
- An average banana contains about 90 calories.
- Bananas are great source of potassium. Potassium helps build muscle power and keeps your body fluids in balance.
- Plantains are a type of banana that is treated like a vegatable. It is rarely eaten raw, instead; it is fried or baked.
- How did people begin eating bananas? A Burmese legend tells the story of a person who watched a bird eat a banana and realized that this funny looking plant could be eaten.
