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Banana is one of the best loved and most widely consumed fruits in the world and yet you will be amazed to find out how many “interesting” numbers it reveals. From banana nutrition facts, prices and consumption data here’s presenting the banana, as it has never been depicted before.
1.35 dollars was the average price paid for one kilo of bananas in the United States in 2014: one of the lowest in the world. They are much more expensive in France (2.2 dollars per kilo) and are definitely becoming more affordable in Japan: their price fell from almost 2.8 dollars in 2011 to 2.2 dollars in 2014.
6 bananas are required to prepare an original banana flavoured liqueur but they have to be very ripe ones. Then you will need half a litre of ethyl alcohol (95%), half a litre of water, 250 grams of sugar and a vanilla pod. Peel the bananas and cut them into discs before place them in a hermetic storage jar together with a vanilla pod that has been split open. Pour over the alcohol and close the jar firmly. Keep it in a cool dark place (not the refrigerator) for three weeks. From time to time, shake the jar without opening it. Once three weeks have passed, dissolve the sugar in a pan together with the water over a low heat. Take the banana mixture and filter the liquid before adding it to the syrup you have just prepared. Pour everything into a hermetic glass jar, close it and leave it in a cool dark place (again) for at least one month.
80% of the world’s banana production comes from Central and Latin America. More specifically, the most important producer is Ecuador, with around 5 million tons, followed by the Philippines (3 million) and Costa Rica (2 million).
There are 89 kilocalories to 100 grams of bananas, which is the average weight of a peeled fruit. Some more banana nutrition facts? It is a sweet fruit that actually contains 22.84 grams of carbohydrates and 12.23 grams of sugar, but it also gives us a high content of fibre (2.6 grams), potassium (358 milligrams) and calcium (5 milligrams). Despite its thick pulp, it also contains a lot of water: 74.9 grams.
200 grams of banana pulp are the first step of a recipe for making a delicious cream. Then you will need 500 grams of mascarpone, half a litre of full cream fresh milk, 200 ml of whipping cream and 80 grams of sugar. Blend the bananas and then add the milk and sugar before continuing to blend until the mixture is nice and smooth. Place it in a dish, add the mascarpone and whisk with an electric mixer. At this point whip the cream separately and add to the mixture, folding it in gently. Pour the cream into individual dishes and place in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. When you are ready to serve the cream, sprinkle it with some roughly crushed biscuits.
1904 was the year in which Cabbages and Kings was published, a collection of short stories set in a sleepy town of Central America. In this book by William Sidney Porter, the expression Banana Republic was coined for the first time. Originally, the term was used to indicate the political instability of those countries whose economy is based on the exportation of a limited number of products. Exactly like bananas in some Latin American countries. Nowadays, it is used to indicate a government whose leader tends to favour his friends’ interests rather than those of the population.
5,000,000 tons of bananas are eaten in the United States, the world’s number one consumer. The European Community comes next (4.8 million), followed by Russia (1.2 million) and Japan (1 million).
16,700,000 million tons of bananas are consumed on the global market every year. Without a doubt, it is one of the best loved fruits in the world. The biggest consumer is North America (31%), closely followed by Europe (28%) and Asia (16%).
