Beautiful Banana Milk
by Erin Fletter
Photo by Jair Belafacce/Shutterstock.com
prep time
10 minutes
cook time
makes
4-6 servings
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- blend :
to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.
- peel :
to remove the skin or rind from something using your hands or a metal tool.
- sprinkle :
to scatter small drops or particles of an ingredient evenly or randomly over food.
Equipment Checklist
- Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
- Liquid measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
scale
1X
2X
3X
4X
5X
6X
7X
Ingredients
Beautiful Banana Milk
- 3 large ripe bananas
- 3 C milk **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free milk)**
- 1 C ice
- 1 T sugar or honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY use certified gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor—check label)**
- 1 dash ground cinnamon
Food Allergen Substitutions
Beautiful Banana Milk
- Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free milk.
- Gluten/Wheat: Use certified gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor.
Instructions
Beautiful Banana Milk
1.
peel + combine
Peel 3 bananas and combine in a blender, or a pitcher for use with an immersion blender, with 3 cups milk, 1 cup ice, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
2.
blend + sprinkle
Blend everything up until very, very smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with 1 dash of cinnamon before serving!
Photo by Daria Lixovetckay/Shutterstock.com
Hi! I'm Banana!
“I'm such an 'a-peeling' fruit, I'm just going to have to tell you a little about myself! Bananas are very popular. We're long and curved, and we typically have a yellow outer layer (like some raincoats!) called a peel or skin. After peeling a banana, you can eat it whole; slice it into cereal, salads, or desserts; and mash it and put us on toast or add us to pancake or banana bread batter. Be careful not to throw your banana peel on the floor, or someone might slip on it!"
History
- The Latin scientific name for banana is "musa sapientum," or "fruit of the wise men."
- The first recorded mention of bananas is from the 6th century BCE. They were represented in Egyptian hieroglyphs.
- Bananas may have been Earth's first fruit and the first fruit cultivated by people. The first banana farms were in southeast Asia.
- The phrase "going bananas" came about because monkeys love bananas!
- India produces over 26 percent of the world's bananas. In the United States, Hawaii grows the most bananas.
- There are a few cultures, especially Japan's, where the fiber from the banana plant is used to make fabric and sometimes even paper.
- The world's record for the longest banana split is 4.97 miles. In March 2017, Innisfail, Australia, residents made it using 40,000 bananas, 660 gallons of ice cream, and 528 gallons of topping. It took hundreds of volunteers 12 hours to prepare the banana split.
- People like their bananas! Worldwide we eat more than 100 billion bananas each year! Of those, Americans annually eat about 27 pounds of bananas per person. But we don't eat as many bananas as the Ugandan people. Their average consumption each year is 500 pounds per person!
Anatomy & Etymology
- What appears to be a banana tree is actually an herbaceous flowering plant (the world's largest).
- A banana plant can grow an inch or more while you sleep at night, eventually growing from 10 to 25 feet high.
- Botanically, a banana is a berry.
- Since commercially-grown bananas do not contain seeds, you cannot grow a banana from seed unless you can find someone who sells seeds from the wild fruit. Otherwise, new plants are grown from offshoots or suckers of the banana plant.
- A single banana fruit is called a finger, and a cluster of fruit is called a hand. There are 10 to 20 fingers on each hand.
- About 75 percent of a banana's weight is water.
- Because bananas are less dense than water, they are able to float.
- Wild banana varieties include bubblegum pink bananas with fuzzy skins, green-and-white striped bananas with orange sherbet-colored flesh, and bananas that taste like strawberries when cooked.
- The word "banana" may have come from the West African Wolof word "banaana," through late 16th century Portuguese or Spanish. However, it could have come from the Arab word "banan," meaning finger.
How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- Bananas ripen best if growers pick them when they are still green.
- Don't separate a banana from the bunch if you want it to ripen more quickly.
- Putting bananas in a sealed container, like a brown paper bag, will hasten them to ripen, especially if you add another type of fruit to the bag.
- You may have noticed that organic bananas often come with plastic wrap around the top stems of a bunch, but you can also wrap yours at home. Tightly wrapped stems will help bananas last three to five days longer.
- Try peeling a banana from the bottom up toward the stem to avoid dislodging the stringy vascular tissue running down the length of the fruit inside. Those strings are called "phloem" (pronounced "flom").
- Banana peels are actually edible if cooked.
- Once you peel a banana and it comes in contact with air, it can begin to turn brown. Sprinkling lemon or pineapple juice on a cut banana will prevent this.
- Don't be surprised that the banana peel turns brown or black after being refrigerated—it won't affect the fruit inside. This darkening happens because the cold breaks down the skin's cell walls and causes compounds in it to oxidize.
- You can put ripe or overripe bananas in the freezer and then add a frozen banana to your blender when making a smoothie instead of ice. You can also insert a popsicle stick into one end of a banana, freeze the banana, then dip the frozen banana in chocolate melted with a little oil. If desired, roll the coated banana in toppings like nuts, coconut flakes, or sprinkles, then refreeze for a chocolaty, nutritious frozen dessert.
Nutrition
- Bananas contain vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and vitamin B6.
- Bananas have 31 percent of the daily value of vitamin B6! This vitamin strengthens your nervous and immune systems. It also is needed for your body to make serotonin, a hormone that elevates mood.
- About half of all people allergic to latex may also be allergic to bananas.
Let's Learn About South Korea!
Photo by JEONGHYEON NOH/Shutterstock.com
- South Korea is officially named the Republic of Korea. It is a separate country from North Korea. This is because North and South Korea were divided into two countries during the Korean War in the 1950s.
- South Korea has a day dedicated to celebrating their children: May 5th. A children's book author started it because he wanted Korean children to have a sense of independence and national pride. It was designated a national holiday in 1975. On this day, cities and towns celebrate with parades, and children receive free admission to many movies, zoos, and theme parks.
- Literacy is high—98 percent of Korean adults can read! The alphabet of the Korean language is called Hangul. King Sejong the Great created it in 1443 to increase literacy. Korea's previous alphabet was Hanja or Han Chinese Characters. Today, Hangul is considered one of the most efficient alphabets in the world.
- Seoul, the capital city, has a population of about 10 million, densely packed into a small area. Many people live in high-rise apartments.
- Koreans have two New Year's Days. In addition to January 1st, Koreans also celebrate the Lunar New Year in February.
- The Korean martial art taekwondo is the national sport. Unsurprisingly, Koreans have won the most Olympic gold medals in taekwondo.
- Korean babies are considered one year old on the day they are born, then add another year on New Year's Day. Historically, Koreans have not celebrated their birthdays on the day they were born; instead, they celebrate turning one year older collectively on New Year's Day.
- Parents hold a party on a baby's first birthday and place several objects on a table to let the child pick their favorite. Whatever the child chooses is believed to predict their future or a dominant personality trait. For example, if the child picks up a book, they are destined to be smart; if the child picks up money, they will be wealthy; if the child picks up food, they will not be hungry; and if the child picks up the thread, they will live a long life.
- Koreans are very in tune with their bodies, eat the right amount of food, and focus on nutrition. The temperature of their food matters to them. Koreans follow Eastern Asian medicine principles: on the hottest days of the summer, it's traditional to eat boiling chicken ginseng soup! The rationale behind it? There shouldn't be a sharp contrast between a person's body temperature and one's food—or else, your stomach will get upset.
- Kimchi, the nation's favorite dish eaten at almost every meal, is made by fermenting vegetables, fruit, and even oysters. It is said to help prevent the flu. Kimchi becomes more sour and potent the longer it sits. There are 250 different kinds of kimchi!
- During autumn, Korean families come together to make enough kimchi to last several months, sharing with neighbors, friends, and family. This holiday is called Kimjang.
- Korean adults eat seaweed soup on their birthdays for good luck, long life, and to honor their mothers. Women who have just given birth also have the soup as it is rich in minerals and nutrients.
What's It Like to Be a Kid in South Korea?
- South Koreans treasure children, and family is very important. They teach kids to respect parents and elders. It is a custom for kids and adults to take their shoes off when they enter the home.
- Many parents have high expectations for their kids' education. Middle and high school kids have long days at school that last from 8 am until 5 pm, and then they may have extra school, tutoring, and homework until 10 pm or later.
- Computer games are extremely popular with South Korean kids. However, they may also play some traditional games. One game is "gonggi" (KON-chee). It is similar to "jacks" but played with small genuine or plastic stones. One of the tricks is to land the stone on the back of your hand after picking it up and throwing it in the air. Another game is "jegichagi," played alone or with other players by kicking a paper "jegi" (like a badminton shuttlecock) in the air and trying to keep it aloft.
- Some of the sports kids participate in are football (soccer), baseball, golf, skiing, ice skating, and taekwondo, a martial art. In addition, they like music, especially K-pop music (Korean pop).
- Children learn "nunchi" (noon-chee) by three years old. The literal translation is "eye-measure" and could also be called emotional intelligence. Kids learn to be aware of their environment, observe people and situations, quickly discern another person's mood, read a situation correctly, and respond accordingly. Nunchi helps a person navigate their world in a caring and intelligent way throughout their life.
- Kids have rice with just about every meal. They will eat it with eggs, fish, or another protein for breakfast. They may have "ramyeon," which is like "ramen," a Japanese noodle soup, or more rice and protein for lunch. Desserts made with sweet rice or red beans are popular. For example, kids may have "bingsu," shaved ice often topped with sweet red beans and sweetened condensed milk, or "bungeo-ppang," a fish-shaped pastry filled with sweetened red bean paste, pastry cream, or chocolate and cooked like a waffle.
Lettuce Joke Around
What would you call two banana skins?
A pair of slippers.
THYME for a Laugh
What do you call a cow that doesn’t give milk?
A milk dud!
THYME for a Laugh
"Knock, knock!"
"Who’s there?"
"Ben and Anna."
"Ben and Anna who?"
(no answer—Ben and Anna (banana) split)
Lettuce Joke Around
What does an invisible man drink?
Evaporated milk!
The Yolk's On You
What did mama cow say to baby calf?
It’s pasture bedtime.
Lettuce Joke Around
Why does a milking stool have only three legs?
Because the cow has the udder!
That's Berry Funny
Why are bananas never lonely?
Because they hang around in bunches!
The Yolk's On You
What kind of key opens a banana?
A mon-key!
