Bananas originate from the jungles of Malaysia and some horticulturists believe that bananas were the first fruit on earth. They are actually a herb and distantly related to ginger. The word banana is derived from the Arab for ‘finger’.

Our beloved Cavendish (yellow) bananas are named after William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. He received a shipment from Mauritius as a gift in 1834 and his head gardener, Sir Joseph Paxton, propagated them in the greenhouses at Chatsworth House.

Red Dacca are a subgroup of bananas with red-hued peels and thought to have originated from India and are a descendent from wild bananas. In Thailand they are known as gluay krang and used to thicken and sweeten curries and in Central America sap from the red banana plants is extracted and consumed as a medicinal elixir, believed to act as an aphrodisiac.

Red Dacca are a top banana and contain more vitamin C and beta-carotene than yellow bananas and taste sweeter with a hint of raspberry/mango flavour. They have a lower GI score than the yellow (Cavendish) bananas.

In Britain we throw away over 1.4 million bananas every day that are perfectly good to eat. Ripe bananas are fantastic and nothing should go to waste, not even the skin.

I often add ripe bananas to leaves, nuts and seeds and top with the baked skin and a sprinkling of chaat masala for a super nutritious light meal. #ChristmasGift