Banana bread

Banana bread

Pale banana bread loaf made with unripe bananas and molasses
Details
Type	Sweet bread
Main ingredient(s)	Bananas
Variations	Banana raisin bread, banana nut bread, chocolate chip banana bread

Banana bread is a type of bread that is made with mashed bananas. It is often a moist, sweet, cake-like quick bread; however, there are some banana bread recipes that are traditional-style rye breads.

History

Banana bread first became a standard feature of American cookbooks with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder in the 1930s. It appeared in Pillsbury's 1933 Balanced Recipes cookbook, and later gained more acceptance with the release of the original Chiquita Banana's Recipe Book in 1950.

National Banana Bread day is 23 February. Bananas appeared in the US in the 1870s and it took a while for them to appear as ingredient items for desserts. The modern banana bread recipe began being published in cookbooks around the 1930s and its popularity was greatly helped by the introduction of baking powder on the market. Some food historians believe banana bread was a byproduct of the Great Depression as resourceful housewives did not wish to throw away overripe bananas (as they were still a costly item to purchase), others believe the modern banana bread was developed in corporate kitchens to promote flour and baking soda products.

Variations

• Banana raisin bread
• Banana nut bread – chopped nuts, often walnuts or pecans, are added to the recipe.
• Chocolate chip banana bread – chocolate chips are added to the recipe.

• 

  Banana bread without nuts

See also

• Bánh chuối, a banana cake from Vietnam
• List of American breads
• List of banana dishes
• List of quick breads
• List of sweet breads
• Pumpkin bread
• Zucchini bread