April 17 National Banana Day

Orange you glad I didn’t say banana? Enjoy some banana based treat like banana bread, a banana split, or even banana punch, and tell some terrible jokes.

National Banana Day is a bit like a heady mix of April Fool’s Day and Halloween (of course, without the trick or treating and vandalism) and with a helpful portion of healthy eating thrown in for good measure!

So, get ready to Go Bananas on National Banana Day!

History of National Banana Day

National Banana Day is a yearly event that is aimed at celebrating bananas in every conceivable sense of the word–because the banana is certainly a fruit worth celebrating!

While bananas are believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, mainly in India. They made their way west by Arab conquerors in 327 BC, and eventually bananas ended up in Europe. By the 1870s, bananas made their way to the Caribbean with missionaries, where the bananas were originally used for micro crops (which means growing one crop that helps another crop to grow). Eventually, though, bananas became a lucrative crop in their own right.

The popularity of bananas in the West grew throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. As they became more affordable and less exotic, bananas were added to special dishes like the banana split, or used in baking recipes like banana bread.

Regarding the origins of National Banana Day, it is known that every year students at many prestigious American universities use National Banana Day as a way of celebrating this humble fruit as a lunchbox standard. On this day, they eat and share weird and wonderful banana concoctions (banana punch, anyone?), they dress as bananas and they generally go a bit…well…nuts.

And bananas too, of course.

National Banana Day is the perfect day to find solace in this world-renowned fruit that is useful and beneficial on so many levels. Happy National Banana Day!

How to Celebrate National Banana Day

Celebrating National Banana Day seems like a great time to get creative and enjoy a big load of fun! After all, there aren’t many days in the year when it is allowed to legitimately goof off and also have a little fruit-based fun, so why not take a (banana) leaf out of the students’ book and go a little bit bananas today?

Consider these ideas for celebrating National Banana Day:

Make a Banana Treat

Get creative in the kitchen and enjoy what monkeys have known all along–the banana is a fabulous food! Try these delicious treats to eat alone or share with friends:

Banana Split. A classic American tradition, the banana split uses the two halves of a sliced banana, some scoops of ice cream (usually one of each vanilla, chocolate and strawberry), and toppings such as hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts and cherries.

Banana Bread. Although the same recipe will bake more quickly when poured into muffin tins, there is something special about a dense loaf of warm banana bread. No matter what shape they are in, this is a great way to use up bananas that have gotten a bit over-ripe or brown, because over ripe bananas are sweeter.

Bananas Flambe. This French Caribbean treat is made from peeled banana halves fried in oil and then coated with rum and sugar. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, of course, it makes a delightful and dramatic show of a simple food!

Chocolate Covered Bananas. Channel that inner Arrested Development character (Bluth family, anyone?) by freezing some bananas and dipping them into chocolate–add nuts too!