Bananas – everyone in this household relishes them. In fact, we hardly ever come back from our weekly grocery shopping without having a cluster in our bags. So we decided to educate ourselves and “googled” the word banana. Here are some interesting facts we gathered :
- The word “banana is derived from the Arab word “banan” which means finger.
- Bananas were first found in the region of Malaysia. It was Alexander the Great who brought bananas back with him to the western world.
- They contain Vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6 and fiber.
- Bananas also contain three natural sugars, sucrose, fructose and glucose along with fiber. A banana thus gives an instant and substantial boost of energy.
- They are harvested green because they keep ripening even after they are picked.
With all this in mind, we were even more motivated to start our afternoon ritual of cooking together with one of our favorite desserts this summer : banana sorbets. It is unctuous, fresh, keeps the fresh fruit’s taste almost unchanged. Perfect ending for a substantial meal. Of course, if you are up for a more sweets, you can always add some chocolate, honey, berry treats. Banana sorbet is the perfect occasion to let your imagination flow.
Making these sorbets was so fast and easy that we had plenty of time left to whip up another similar dessert. Our next favorite flavor is apricot. Since we are at the peak of apricot season – and it lasts about a month each year! – those orange little jewels are so ripe and sweet these days that we barely need half the amount of sugar to prepare our frozen treats. It is also a good occasion to freeze some for our winter cravings… The principle for making sorbets is fairly simple : we make a fruit puree (with fresh bananas, and roasted apricots) and add some sugar and fruit juice. Then the ice cream machine does the rest.