All over America, people are waiting for bananas to go black.
Because blackened bananas, mushy and overripe, are the sweetest bananas — and therefore the best bananas for banana bread.
And if there's one thing Americans are doing in the kitchen during coronavirus sheltering, it's baking banana bread. Yup, banana bread, that foil-swaddled classic, the Muzak of baked goods.
According to a recent study that analyzed Google searches for quarantine recipes and home cooking in all 50 states, banana bread was the most popular recipe nationwide and in every state.
April saw more than 2.7 million searches for banana bread, the study found, an 83 percent increase from the previous month and a nearly 590 percent increase from the same time in 2019.
The study also ranked banana bread searches by state. Nevada ranks No. 17, with 893 searches per 100,000.
New Hampshire topped the list with 1,400 searches per 100,000; folks in Mississippi were the least interested in banana bread, with only 273 searches per 100,000.
Why banana bread is so popular now (with recipe)
It's not hard to explain the banana bread bandwagon.
Banana bread is familiar, and familiarity breeds comfort, in way that, say, kouign amann might not. Banana bread doesn't call for special ingredients — or for yeast, which is in short supply in some places.
The bread allows bananas to be repurposed after they've become too squishy for eating out of hand, versatility that's ideal for today's tight budgets. Build a stash of overripe fruit in a zip-close bag in the freezer, then thaw to room temperature before baking.
Banana bread recipes, though quite varied, are nigh-on foolproof: Even a kitchen klutz can successfully make a loaf or two.
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One more point of connection: Banana bread first appeared in the U.S. during the Great Depression, another time of national thrift and uncertainty.
Here's a basic banana bread recipe from a version of "Betty Crocker's Cookbook" that's been in my family nearly 50 years.
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BANANA BREAD
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (if using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt)
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons salad oil (vegetable oil)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (from 2 to 3 medium)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup finely chopped nuts
- Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan or two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pans.
- Measure all ingredients into a large mixer bowl; beat on medium speed about 1/2 minute, scraping side and bottom of bowl constantly.
- Pour into pan(s). Bake 55 to 65 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly before slicing.
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Johnathan L. Wright is the food and drink editor of RGJ Media, part of the USA Today Network. Join @RGJTaste on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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June 04, 2020 at 12:58AM
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Forget a bun in the oven. During COVID-19, what America is really baking is banana bread - Reno Gazette Journal
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