![\"\"](\"http:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/files\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-06-at-1.25.14-PM-1024x751.png\")
<\/p>\nBanana bread has long since been a favourite among adults and kids alike for years! This delicious soft bread has an interesting history that has led to its incredible popularity in the United States as well as Canada.<\/p>\n
Prior to the creation of refrigeration in the 20th century, it was very challenging to transport bananas long distances. This was due to the fruit being one that ripens very quickly and can also rot very quickly. As a result, bananas were scarce in the states. When they finally were able to transport them efficiently, the fruit began popping up in more recipes. Despite this, bananas were still mostly seen as a topping for other dishes or an easy breakfast item.<\/p>\n
As the 1930s and the great depression came into full swing, so did banana bread. During this time period, many jobs were lost and unemployment rates skyrocketed. This resulted in food scarcity or merely not having the means to purchase enough food needed. Banana bread came out of this predicament by being able to utilize fruit that has already expired in the eyes of normal consumption. This meant that those rotten-looking brown bananas could be used to make an inexpensive yet, filling and somewhat nutritious meal\/snack.<\/p>\n
In addition to the increased desire for no waste, baking soda and baking powder were created and able to be widely distributed. This new way of making bread was much quicker than the traditional yeast method. All of this led to a boom in banana bread in cookbooks and households throughout the thirties and into the modern day.<\/p>\n
During the pandemic, banana bread made an incredible comeback. When psychotherapist Katerina Georgiou was asked why, the answer is fairly simple. Cooking and baking is a mindful activity that allows one to be in control, mixed with the comfort of eating banana bread, its simplicity, and lightly sweet taste, it became the perfect food\/activity while in lockdown. It allowed people to do something that did not feel meaningless and also brought joy and a sense of warmth to the household.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Photo: Kennedy Bollhorn<\/p>\n
On a more personal note, banana bread has always been of great significance to my family and I. We had been going to the island of Maui in Hawaii since I was born and when I was 13, we had the opportunity to move there for 6 months. While I had been there so many times in the past, we moved out of the tourist area and learned more about the land and the culture of the island. To do this, we would often all hop in the jeep and drive along the coast. The winding, one-way road with a drop to the ocean on one side, took us to many incredible places I will never forget. One of these places, I only just remember as “Julias”. When the road widened after quite a ways drive, there was a small village a little higher in the mountains. With dirt roads and little homes with goats and chickens, on the side of the road sat a little painted shack with a small porch. This is where I found the best banana bread I have ever had and probably ever will have, served by none other than Julia herself. These outings to Julias became some of the best memories I have ever had with my family. Although so far from home in Kelowna BC, we all felt like home was that crazy good banana bread. I have not been back in years but I hope Julia is still there, making memories for families like mine that will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n Declan Henesy, \u201cLockdown Loaf: The History of Banana Bread,\u201d Seconds Food History<\/i> (blog), April 21, https:\/\/www.secondshistory.com\/home\/history-of-banana-bread. accessed April 5, 2023.<\/p>\n PJ Hamel, \u201cA Short History of Banana Bread,\u201d King Arthur Baking Company<\/i> (blog), February 23, 2017, https:\/\/www.kingarthurbaking.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/23\/short-history-of-banana-bread. accessed April 5, 2023.<\/p>\n Rhiannon Evans, \u201cTo Add To Your Feeling Of D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu The Banana Bread Craze Is Back,\u201d Grazia<\/i> (blog), September 24, 2020, https:\/\/graziadaily.co.uk\/life\/food-and-drink\/banana-bread-lockdown\/. accessed April 5, 2023.<\/p>\n Image Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n Neil Conway. Banana bread with a slice, February 2009.jpg.<\/i> February 15, 2009. Photo. Wikimedia Commons. accessed April 5, 2023. https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Banana_bread_with_a_slice,_February_2009.jpg.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Banana bread has long since been a favourite among adults and kids alike for years! This delicious soft bread has an interesting history that has led to its incredible popularity in the United States as well as Canada. Prior to the creation of refrigeration in the 20th century, it was very challenging to transport bananas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-published"],"splot_meta":{"author":"Kennedy Bollhorn","license":"by","footer":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":516,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514\/revisions\/516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.kpu.ca\/foodhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}