Maybe the Mayan calendar doesn’t end in 2012 with the world’s demise.
Maybe it’s just the end of the banana.
Maybe that’s just as bad as the end of the world.
Okay, before anyone starts cleaning out grocery stores’ stock of the mild-flavored fruit while rocking out to REM’s iconic song of the apocalypse, just know that it’s happened before, and we survived just fine.
Wait, what?
Yes, that’s right — according to the New Yorker, before the 1950s, most Americans ate the Gros Michel banana, until a fungus dubbed Race One essentially wiped out the variety. Since then, 99 percent of the bananas exported to the U.S. have been Cavendish, which can hold its own against Race One.
Today, however, there’s a new banana-devastating threat in town, known as Tropical Race Four, and the Cavendish isn’t immune to it. The fungus has withered banana plantations in China, the Philippines and Australia, and scientists fear Central America is next, the New Yorker reported.
Unfortunately, this time around we don’t have a handy standby banana variety, and recent news reports state that scientists have been struggling to engineer one.
Weird Al, you better start penning, “It’s the End of the Banana As We Know It.” In all seriousness though, it’s hard to tell when and if the Cavendish will go the way of the dodo.
And, banana lovers, if it helps you sleep any easier, know that Popular Science wrote about the Cavendish’s path to extinction back in 2005. It’s been highly speculated, and it is a threat, but chances are, you’re not going to wake up tomorrow to a banana-less world.
In honor of the tasty treat, here are five ways to celebrate the banana in all its yellow-peeled glory:
1.) Pair it with honey and peanut butter to create a “Healthy Elvis” English muffin
2.) Dip it in melted chocolate and freeze it
3.) Sprinkle slices atop your yogurt and granola for an added dose of potassium
4.) Bake it with some coconut for tropical crumb muffins
5.) Swap it for wheat to create gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
What’s your favorite banana recipe? If it isn’t listed above, make it, snap a pic and we’ll feature it on the site! (Just e-mail it to candace@collegiatecook.com.)