Bananas are the new 'in-thing' as a healthy, energy boosting fruit but
this discovery is 'cauld kale rehet' to Scots.We have been enjoying the
golden fruit ( its nickname when first imported ) for a century now.
Indeed most of the bananas consumed in Scotland are distributed by the
UK's top importer Fyffes from their recently opened, 'state-of-the-ark',
warehouse situated in Livingston, West Lothian.
Fyffes commenced business three centuries ago in Scotland although at that
time bananas were the last thing on their mind! Brothers Henry and
Nathaniel Fyffe set-up in Perth as general merchants selling everything
from buttons to tobacco. In 1789 one of their sons emigrated to London,
England, to seek his fortune and became an importer of specialist teas. A
hundred years later a further Fyffe, Edward Wathen Fyffe, decided to take
his sick wife to the Canary islands to convalesce. She quickly discovered
the magic of bananas as an aid to recovery and this inspired her husband
to take the Fyffe business in a new direction - the importation of
bananas. Bananas, the name is derived from the Arabic for finger, proved
to be very popular and were first sold in Scotland by fruiterers in the
Fyffe's 'cauf-kintra' of Perth and in Dundee. Since 1902, with only the
interruption of the Second World War, Scots have enjoyed the golden fruit.
So you can simply unzip a banana and enjoy it instantly or you can use
them a bit more creatively in baking such as this week's recipe for Banana
Loaf. Once again we are grateful to 'The Anniversary Cook-Book of the
Dumfriesshire Federation SWRI 1922-1992' for this tasty treat.
Banana Loaf
Ingredients : 10 oz ( 275 g ) self raising flour; 4 oz ( 100 g ) butter or
margarine; 6 oz ( 175 g ) soft brown sugar; 3 eggs; 2 large bananas; 1
level teaspoon cinnamon; 3 to 4 tablespoons milk; 4 oz (100 g) chopped
apricots or walnuts ( optional )
Cream butter and sugar, add mashed bananas to mixture. Add beaten eggs one
by one, add milk. Fold in flour and cinnamon. Bake for one hour at 350F
degrees/ 180C degrees/gas mark 4, 1/2hour at 335F degrees/160C degrees/gas
mark 3 in a 2 lb loaf tin.
