Collegian

Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Christopher Heinze

It takes five medium bananas and other items to make Duck Pond Punch, a recipe in the 2006 Zero Proof Mix Off Booklet.

But as Brian Hollinger said." How can you tell if you have a medium banana? Every time I go to Apple (a local grocery store chain), the bananas are not set out according to size. Some of them are huge."

Hellenger or, Rabb to his listeners, DJ's for Lorain County Community College's radio station, the Duck. Hellenger and Jeff Traxler were talking about bananas while Hellenger was relaxing in the Student Life area. Traxler is the Duck's station manager, and he works part time as a receptionist for the Student life office.

Although cancelled by bad weather, the Zero Proof Mix Off was scheduled for Dec. 7, 2006. It was a competition to see who could come up with creative alternatives to alcoholic mixed drinks. Two other recipes in the booklet also call for bananas, "Fruity Cheer' requires half of a banana and " Smooth Sailing" by the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, calls for two bananas, sliced.

"Bananas have fiber and potassium," said Mary Jo DiGiandomenico, associate professor in the HPER department. She is the instructor for courses that teach nutrition and weight management.

DiGiandomenico said, I like banana milkshakes made with vanilla soymilk. It's nutrient rich, and the milk is from a plant origin instead of an animal origin.

Bananas are used for more than just drinks. As a sliced fruit, they are a popular topping for breakfast cereal, ice cream treats, and sandwiches. As an item with its own wrapping, it's a common site at snack and lunch times. Bananas can be fried, baked, or eaten raw. The sweet creamy taste and soft texture has made the banana a useful and valuable fruit.

The bright yellow fruit originates in a region of Malaysia, according to Banana.com. Bananas were among the items Arabs traded with East African slave traders from Madagascar. Eventually the fruit became part of the Portuguese and Spanish trade, and found its way to other parts of the world. According to Banana.com, the naming of the fruit as a banana is credited to the Arab slave traders. They called the fruit a banan, an Arabic word which means finger, referring to a banana's size and resemblance to a human finger. Eventually, the banana increased in popularity and abundance in many tropical areas around the world, including the Hawaiian Islands, Central and South America, and through out the Caribbean.

Although the yellow banana is the most visible variety seen on American supermarket shelves, there are five common varieties available. There's the fruit or yellow banana, a red banana, the apple banana, the baby bananas and the baking banana, according to fruitpages.com. This website states, the red bananas are the same size and flavor as the yellow, but they have red or pinkish peel. The apple bananas are yellow, but have a more tart flavor, like that of an apple. The smallest and sweetest bananas of the banana bunch are the baby bananas. The largest member of the family is the baking banana. These must be cooked in order to eat them. Baking bananas or plantains are used like potatoes and other root vegetables.

So when it comes to the yellow fruit bananas, does size really matter? If someone is trying to lose weight or making a drink, it might be a factor. According to www.nal.usda.gov, a small banana is 6 to 6 7/8 inches long, a medium one is 7 inches to 7 7/8 inches long, the larger one are 8 to 8 7/8 inches long. Bananas smaller than 6 inches are considered extra small, and ones 9 inches or longer are called extra large. The average large banana has about 100 calories, one gram of protein, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, a gram of fat, 7 milligrams of calcium, and 467 milligrams of potassium.

The LCCC Cafeteria does offer bananas occasionally, depending on availability, cost, and quality, according to a member of the cafeteria staff. DiGiandomenico said, the best time to buy bananas is when they are on sale.

More information about bananas, how to buy them and recipes can be found at <> and <>

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