The Banana

Interesting History of Staple Pacific Food.

Written for “The Pacific Islands Monthly” by Mr. Charles Reed, of Apia, Western Samoa.

THE banana was unknown in the days “when father was a boy.” The first banana was imported into England in December of 1878. Shortly after wards, the fruit began to arrive regu larly in England and Europe, from the Canary Islands. The fruit, however, was then seen only in the expensive shops in the West End of London.

Probably on account of its slippery skin, which funny people slip on, the banana began to find its way into the comic music hall songs, of those days, and thus was well advertised.

A British shipping firm altered the idea that the banana was merely a luxury for the rich by landing huge shipments in London, from the West Indies. These were known as the new “Jamaica Banana.” The fruit soon afterwards was sold in the streets at one penny each. It was found both agreeable and nourishing, and became very popular.

The banana is said to have been found originally in the Eastern tropics.

Its congener, the plaintain, was dis covered by the early voyagers to the Pacific, growing wild on several South Sea Islands. To-day, there are grown nearly 150 varieties of the banana.

The banana is found in most tropical and sub-tropical countries. Even in England, bananas of the Dwarf Caven dish variety have ripened quite good bunches of fruit, under glass.

Much as wheat, maize, millet and rice form the staples of many coun

tries, so the banana, together with taro and breadfruit, forms a stple vegetable food of the people of the Pacific Is lands. It is eaten ripe, baked, or boiled green, or in the form of “poi,” or pre served as “masi”. It may also be de hydrated or sun-dried, in the form of “Fig Bananas”. In this form, bananas keep for months. There is perhaps no other product that gives so great a re turn for a given area of land, as does the banana.

The sight of a ripe banana, fully a half-yard in length, is one that may be commonly seen in some of the islands.

It is the fruit of a plantain and, in Samoa, this variety is called, “Fa-i pipio”. Other plantains (usually called “bananas”) bear bunches of fruits much the same length as the well known commercial banana, but about four times the size in thickness.

One interesting kind, the “Pata,” thrives along the sandy belts of the sea coast. This fruit is triangular in shape, and of good quality.

An attractive form of indigenous plantain, in Samoa, is one that bears its fruit upright instead of pendulous.

This is the Soa’a and is notable for its bright orange-coloured fruit.

There are some twenty-five varieties of bananas and plantains (apart from the wild species) which are inedible, growing on most of the larger (or vol canic) islands in the South Seas. Usu ally, one variety only—the Pata —is suitable for the smaller, sandy, coral islands.

Many nourishing foods are prepared in the South Seas, from a combination of bananas, arrowroot and coconut cream. Here are some of them.

Banana Recipes.

Take six ripe bananas; peel and cut into half-inch lengths. Pour some boil ing water over the fruit (to keep its

colour); the bulk of the water may then be poured off again. Over the fruit, thus prepared, a boiled custard may be poured and the dish set to cool.

Very little sugar is needed. Vanilla or lemon essence to taste may be added.

In place of custard, in the South Seas, the ripe fruit is cut and boiled for three or four minutes (as above). A tablespoonful of arrowroot (dry) is then sifted in. After a couple minutes of cooking, the expressed cream from an ordinary coconut is strained through a piece of muslin and added. This dish now requires no further cooking and but very little sweetening.

Baked Banana “Joy” Custard.

Cut some ripe bananas into short lengths. Cover these with the expressed cream of coconut and sweeten to taste.

Cover with a piece of buttered paper, and bake till nicely browned. Set to cool and serve with any kind of fruit, or plain.

Banana South Sea “Poi”.

Peel some ripe bananas and cut into slices. Pour over these some boiling water to set the colour, and pour off again. Have ready the expressed cream from a grated coconut. Add this to the fruit, and then pulp together. Add a little sugar to taste —some add a squeeze of lemon. Serve in glasses, with biscuits.

Banana “Duff”.

Add one teaspoon of baking powder to one pound of flour. Mix with the expressed coconut cream to form an or dinary dough. Fold in some small, cut lengths of ripe bananas; shape like a turnover, and bake or boil.