Last week I walked by the last day produce bin at the grocery store and saw a bag with three bunches of bananas in it for 99¢. The bananas were fully ripe and covered with sugar spots (brown speckles). Sugar spots indicate that a banana has reached its maximum sugar content, and is at its sweetest. Unfortunately, sugar spotted bananas quickly turn black and their insides go mushy, which is why they were in the last day bin.
I purchased the bananas, hoping I could eat a few before they went black, but they were further along than I thought. Many of them already turned black by the next morning, and so I only ended up eating one.
What does one do with black bananas?
Why make bananas bread, of course!
Black bananas are ideal for banana bread, and a few recipes even call for them specifically.
I already made two batches of banana bread on Sunday, and the third and final batch is baking in the oven as I type this.
Here is the recipe I used.
Ingredients:
(wet)
2 1/3 cups of sugar spotted (good) or black (better) bananas, mashed. (about 5 or 6 bananas, 1 bunch)
1/2 cup of butter or margarine
2 eggs
(dry)
2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of baking soda.
1/4 tsp salt
Peal the bananas (duh!
), and place them in a mixing bowl. Using *clean* hands, squeeze the bananas through your fingers to mash them. (It's faster and easier than using a fork or potato masher. Trust me.)
Add the butter/margarine and eggs. (If the butter or magarine is hard, you may want to melt it.)
Using a hand mixer or food processor, mix the wet ingredients thoroughly together until you have a sweet smelling goop resembling goat's vomit.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients together, mixing them with a spoon, breaking up any lumps.
Slowly pour the banana/butter/egg goop into the dry ingredients while mixing with your hand mixer or food processor until all ingredients are blended into a batter. (The goop should provide all the liquid you need without adding any more.)
Pour the batter into a cake pan or loaf pan.
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 175°C.
Place the batter into the oven and bake for an hour.
{{Note: Test the banana bread by poking a butter knife into the centre. If the knife comes out clean, then the banana bread is done. If the knife has gunk on it, bake longer and retest until the knife comes out clean.}}
Remove the Banana bread from the oven. It can be left in the pan or removed. (Your choice
)
Now eat it you fool!
(Very tasty when buttered)
