The History of the Banana
Bananas have been around for thousands of years and the banana story is a fascinating one. The earliest bananas contained lots of seeds and very little edible pulp. Originating in South East Asia, bananas were carried inexorably westwards to neighbouring lands by travellers and traders. It wasn’t until the 16th Century that banana rhizomes (underground stems) were taken to the West Indies by Spanish missionaries and from there to Central and South America.
Growing practices have developed over the years to keep pace with the growth in demand in both volume and quantity. The fruit is cut whilst still green, depending on physiological age depending on market destinations and shipped in special refrigerated vessels which employ the latest temperature control systems to keep the bananas fresh and reduce the ripening rate to a minimum. Upon arrival at journey’s end, the bananas are ripened in special ripening centres, ready for sale in supermarkets and grocery shops.
The invention of steam ships, and a little later, of refrigeration, allowed marketable volumes of bananas to survive the long voyage to Northern Europe. Fyffes carried the first refrigerated commercial shipment of bananas to Britain in 1901 in a purpose built ship called the SS Port Morant.
Since then, banana consumption has increased dramatically and in some countries twice as many bananas are eaten each year than were eaten just 10 years ago.