Herbal Medicine

[Courtenay]

I like them properly ripe (fully yellow) right the way up to over-ripe (mainly brown). By contrast, my mum likes them when they're still greenish and almost crunchy - ugh!

I've got an excellent recipe for healthy chewy choc chip banana biscuits, if anyone's interested...

[Moonraker]

Glad Pete's keeping up the spirit of this thread, though!

That's classic, Farwa. It was Pete who first de-railed this thread!

So, to start it going, what are the benefits of bananas?

Please don't quote me on this,and Farwa,be sure to get your parents permission if you are going to try it out,but I have heard that you can use the inside of a banana skin to clean and shine leather shoes.

Incidentally, I don't think bananas are herbs, old thing!

[Maggie Knows]

Bananas are much easier to digest the riper they are. Best when the skin has developed lots of brown spots!

I don't like overripe bananas, except when they are used to make banana cake. My wife puts overripe bananas in the freezer, then defrosts them after a few days. With that treatment, the skins actually go black. They look horrible, but they make the most delicious cake...

[pete9012S]

Yes,my Wife's Grandmother used to make the most moreish banana cake out of old bananas and said the bananas had to be extremely ripe to make her cakes a success!

Any baking experts know why that is? I've always wondered....

Great avatar Pete!

Thanks Cathy!
Where's yours gone?
Didn't it used to look a bit like Nigel's or am I getting confused (again)?

[Moonraker]

Confused, old thing! I am unique.

[Courtenay]

Incidentally, I don't think bananas are herbs, old thing!

When I Googled "are bananas herbs", I was rather chuffed to find that the first answer that came up was from Museum Victoria, based in my old home city of Melbourne:

http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoveryc ... or-a-herb/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So, now that we’re sure a banana is a fruit, is it a herb? A herb is a plant whose stem does not contain any woody tissue. Banana “trees” are therefore not trees. They are herbaceous plants and should perhaps be called banana herbs.

So to answer this week's question, a banana is both a fruit and a herb.

So there we have it. (I always think it's a shame we don't get Australian-grown bananas in Britain, but I suppose it is a bit far to transport them.)

[Carlotta King]

Thanks Cathy!
Where's yours gone?
Didn't it used to look a bit like Nigel's or am I getting confused (again)?

Just thought I might have a change, not decided what to put up yet, if anything.

You're not getting confused - I had a black background with a white image on it and I remember you saying a while back that it looked like Nigel's and I agreed

[pete9012S]

Yes, I thought it looked a little like Nigel's.But maybe not the one he has now!

Nigel will know - he never gets confused.

[Courtenay]

It did look a bit like the one Nigel has now - it was a black background with a human handprint and a dog's or cat's pawprint in white. Only roughly similar to Nigel's moon and rake on a black background, but they could be fairly easily mistaken for each other at a quick glance.

What this has to do with herbal medicine (or even with bananas), I don't know.

[Moonraker]

What will I never know?

[pete9012S]

I really enjoyed pootling around this informative blog from a year or two ago;


Jekka's Herb Farm
The life & thymes of an award winning herb farm

https://jekkasherbfarm.wordpress.com/ca ... of-the-uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Courtenay]

That's a lovely blog, Pete - and there's another nettle soup recipe!

More seriously, that should help me learn to identify some more British native plants, many of which are still a mystery to this antipodean. I didn't know the like-a-primrose-but-with-sort-of-tube-shaped-flowers plant was a cowslip. I also didn't know one could eat primrose leaves and flowers!

Wild garlic (ramson) is another herb used as a cheese wrapping: http://www.lynherdairies.co.uk/wild-garlic-yarg-2/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Farwa]

Incidentally, I don't think bananas are herbs, old thing!

Well, by herbal medicine, I meant herbs, fruits, vegetables, and nuts as well! And yes, bananas are herbs, so even if only herbs were allowed, it would be accepted!

[Julie2owlsdene]

I didn't know bananas were a herb, I thought they were a fruit!

[Farwa]

Well, now you know!