Definition: banana

Another well-known supplement for high-performance athletes, vitamin C is also present in bananas, with a content of 15 mg per 100 g, making them an interesting source of energy. However, as bananas ripen, the presence of vitamin C becomes increasingly less noticeable, falling below 10 mg in fully ripe fruit.

Of course, bananas are not just for athletes. Recommended for the growth of young children, they are also a very nutritious food for adults of all ages, especially between meals. In addition to their high energy content, they are rich in fibre and minerals, making them ideal for even the most delicate digestive systems.

On a completely different note, some people recommend using banana peel, which can be applied directly to superficial burns to soothe them.

Storage:

The greener the banana, the longer it will keep at room temperature, while continuing to ripen until it becomes edible. For gentle ripening, it is best to hang them on a hook, or wrap them in newspaper if you want to speed up the process.

However, bananas are particularly sensitive to the cold and do not tolerate exposure to temperatures below 12°C. This interrupts the ripening process and the skin quickly turns brown, then black. So avoid the refrigerator...

Finally, for those who absolutely want to freeze them, it is essential to mash the bananas, taking care to add a little lemon juice. In this case, they should be used primarily for making cakes or even compote.

Tasting:

Bananas suit all tastes. Raw or cooked, in desserts or as an accompaniment to savoury dishes, they are used in all types of cuisine and in all forms: fritters, cakes, ice cream, mousses and many others. It all depends on the stage of ripeness - there are seven - at which you wish to eat them.

It is generally at the fourth stage, when the skin is bright yellow and has very few spots, that it is advisable to eat the banana raw, which is also very easy to digest. As is often the case with fruit, the flavour of bananas intensifies as they ripen and their skin darkens. When brown, the flesh of the banana becomes soft, and its texture makes it suitable only for use in desserts and cakes.

Plantains, on the other hand, are only eaten cooked. Whether mashed, baked or, more commonly, fried, they accompany meat and fish in many Caribbean, African and South American dishes. In some of these countries, banana leaves are also used to protect or cook food.

History:

A fruit with white, sweet flesh, the banana, which takes its name from the word banana, meaning "finger" in Bantu, first appeared in Southeast Asia around 500 BC. Long ignored by humans, it was finally domesticated by the Chinese, who gradually incorporated it into their diet. It was only through maritime expeditions that the banana finally found its way to South America and the West Indies, where the humidity and tropical temperatures are ideal for its cultivation. Introduced to Europe in the^18th century by the Portuguese, this naturally fragile fruit was not marketed on a large scale until a century later, thanks to the modernisation of transport and preservation methods.

Today, the largest banana-producing countries are located around the world (India, Brazil, the Philippines, Ecuador and Indonesia), offering uninterrupted production throughout the year.

A giant herb of the Musaceae family, the banana tree, whose leaves measure 3 to 8 metres, can only produce one bunch per plant. Each bunch can contain more than 300 fruits divided into hands, small clusters of about ten bananas, and can reach a total weight of several hundred kilograms.

Due to its fragility, this fruit must be exported under very specific storage conditions. Picked green, the bananas are stored on arrival in large warehouses called ripening rooms, where the fruit waits to ripen before finally being sold.Bananas turn yellow and develop their sweet, delicious flavour at temperatures between 16.5 and 20°C.

There are two main categories of bananas: fruit bananas and vegetable bananas.

Bananas grown for export are mainly fruit bananas. These are very sweet and come in hundreds of varieties, including Grande Nain, Gros Michel, Poyo and Cavendish. Fruit bananas can be short and purple, or more often long and yellow with brown spots, like those found in the UK.

The vegetable banana, or plantain, is larger and less sweet than its cousin, and is mainly found in Creole, South American and African cuisine.

Barbecue An Anglicism that we translate as "grilled meal". A culinary art deeply rooted in our eating habits, barbecuing is synonymous with conviviality and simplicity, marking the return of sunny days and long evenings with friends. Let's take a quick look at the origins of this practice.

Cro-Magnon man is certainly the ancestor to whom we owe the most in terms of cooking. By cooking his food over a fire, he became the clever inventor of the barbecue principle. The arrival of the first metal containers changed the cooking habits of his descendants; preferring to prepare food inside their homes, they gradually abandoned the practice of barbecuing. Christopher Columbus and his travelling companions rediscovered it and brought it back into fashion thanks to the inhabitants of the New World.

"Barbe à queue" or "barbacoa"?

The etymological study of the word barbecue gives rise to some discrepancies: one legend has it that the expression "barque à queue", meaning to cook the animal on a spit from head to tail, is the origin of the word through contraction. A more historical explanation suggests that this Anglo-Saxon term comes from an idiom used by the Arawaks, inhabitants of the Caribbean, who called the wooden grill on which they cooked their meat "barbacoa". Whatever its origin, barbecuing remains a cooking method enjoyed by all, which has been perfected over time and is now available in different versions to suit everyone's tastes.

Barbecue sauce recipe for 4 people:

- 1 kg ripe tomatoes - 1 large onion - 2 cloves of garlic - 1 teaspoon tomato paste

- 1 tablespoon of oil - Cayenne pepper - salt and pepper.

Preparation:

1/ Blanch the tomatoes for 1 minute. Remove the skin and seeds. Finely chop the onion, garlic and tomatoes.

2/ Heat the oil. Fry the onion, garlic and tomatoes. Add the tomato purée. Season with salt, pepper and chilli pepper.

3/ Cook over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Blend the sauce until smooth.