American Heritage Baking—Let’s Bake and Learn
by Nancy Baggett

Going Ape Over Banana Bran Muffins

When new foods appear, they often impact not only our diet but our language and culture. This is certainly the case with the banana. The colorful modern expressions “going bananas,” “top banana,” and “second banana,” as well as the falling on a banana peel comedy bit all popped up in America on the heels (or is it peels?) of the hugely successful introduction of bananas in the latter part of the 1800s.

According to Julian Roche, author of The International Banana Trade, bananas first arrived in America from Panama at the port of New York in 1864. Lynda Morgenroth, author of Boston Firsts, says that Bostonians got their first taste of bananas in 1871, when sea captain Lorenzo Dow Baker returned from a voyage with about 400 bunches of Jamaican bananas. She relates that both purveyors and customers immediately went, well, bananas over the exotic color and shape and sweet, creamy taste. An on-line source, www.bananamuseum.com mentions that bananas were introduced into Philadelphia in 1876 during the Centennial Celebration of the Declaration of Independence. New Orleans, where Bananas Foster originated nearly a century later, began receiving shipments in the same period, although bananas may have already been growing in some residents’ yards.

Once Americans discovered bananas, they wanted more—fast. Julian Roche notes that 114 different banana companies were registered in the U. S. by the 1870s. Many were small and shortlived, but by1890, a gaggle of suppliers was delivering 13 million bunches into the U. S. Today, bananas are our second most popular fruit, right behind apples.

From the 1890s on, banana recipes turned up frequently in our cookbooks and menus. Fannie Merritt Farmer’s1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book contained recipes for baked, fried, and sautéed bananas, plus a banana cake, ice cream, custard, gelatin mold, and salad. The 1898 edition of Mrs. Rorer’s New Cookbook likewise included a cake, fried and stewed bananas, as well as a banana soufflé and a baked banana recipe vaguely like Bananas Foster, but made with port or sherry and lacking the flambéing and scoops of ice cream. (See the sidebar for Mrs. Rorer’s original banana cake recipe.) By the 1930s and 1940s, banana-nut breads and muffins had made their way into the American quick bread repertoire. They have been a great favorite with home cooks ever since.

The banana craze also hit the ice cream industry, where the fruit was served up in crosswise slices in banana royale sundaes and lengthwise in banana splits. Invented in 1904 by a Pennsylvania pharmacy clerk, the banana split was soon a staple in ice cream parlors all across the land. A 1919 soda fountain trade publication called Spatula Soda Water Guide included 25 different banana split versions!

Perhaps due to their slightly silly-sounding name or phallic shape, bananas have always appealed to our funny bones as well as our taste buds. So, they soon cropped up in the entertainment business, too. In Bananas: An American History, Virginia Scott Jenkins say the phrases “top banana," and “second banana,” (meaning star and sidekick) were coined by vaudeville comedian Harry Steppe, whose trademark 1927 slapstick routine featured three comics flummoxed over how to share two bananas. A widely-circulated publicity photo shows Steppe with a banana in one hand and two sticking out of his shirt pocket. The time-worn cartoon and comic strip gag involving a slip on a banana peel is said to have originated from the serious problem of turn-of-the-century banana lovers throwing their discards down on city streets.

The expression “going bananas” slipped into the language in the 1940s or 1950s, though exactly when or why isn’t known. Lexicographer J. E. Lighter thinks that it’s a variant of “going ape,” and references the characteristic hyper behavior of banana-loving primates when they get excited. This explanation makes perfect sense.

Following is a banana muffin recipe guaranteed to make you go—bananas, of course!

Top Banana Bran Breakfast Muffins (printable)
Touting these muffins as wholesome, rich in fiber, and easy to make would probably be enough, but they are also wonderfully aromatic and flavorful. And they rise nicely and are handsome in a homespun way. Using half whole wheat flour boosts the nutrition without making the muffins the least bit dense or “health foody,” but, if you prefer, it’s fine to use all white flour in the recipe.

Though the yogurt helps keep them moist, these muffins are best stashed in the freezer if not eaten the first or second day. I like to pull them out and quickly thaw them (wrapped in a tea towel or paper towels) in the microwave oven for quick nourishing breakfast treat or snack.

Tip: Although the recipe calls for quickly pulverizing the bran flakes and pureeing the bananas in a food processor, these tasks can be done by hand. Put the cereal in a small plastic bag and crush to fine bits using a rolling pin. Mash the bananas with a fork until very smooth, then whisk them together with the other wet ingredients.

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for garnish
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup 100 percent bran flakes cereal
1 1/2 cups mashed over-ripe banana (2 to 3 large)
1/2 cup plain nonfat or low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup corn oil, canola oil or other flavorless, low-saturated fat vegetable oil
2 large eggs, or 6 1/2 tablespoons liquid egg substitute
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (orange part of peel), optional

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease 12 standard-sized muffin tin cups or coat with non-stick spray. (Or, use paper muffin cup liners, if desired.)

Thoroughly stir together the flours, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt, and in a large bowl. In a food processor, chop the bran flakes into very fine bits (not a powder), then add them to the dry ingredients. Combine the banana, yogurt, oil, eggs, and orange zest (if using) in the processor and process until completely smooth. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture, mixing gently just until the ingredients are evenly blended; don't over-mix or the batter may toughen.

Using a 1/2-cup measure or large spoon, immediately divide the batter among 12 muffin cups; they should be fairly full. Sprinkle the muffin tops with the reserved 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, dividing it equally among them.

Bake in the middle third of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the muffins are tinged with brown on top and springy to the touch; a toothpick inserted into the thickest part should come out clean. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes; if no paper liners were used, gently run a knife around the cups, then remove the muffins. Let stand until cooled. They are best when fresh, but can be kept airtight for a day or so. Freeze airtight for longer storage.

Makes 12 standard-sized muffins.