Overview

"Before 1880 most Americans had never seen a banana. By 1910 bananas were so common that streets were littered with their peels. Today, Americans eat on average nearly 75 per year. More than a staple of the American diet, bananas have also gained a secure place in the nation's culture and folklore. In this wide-ranging history of the most popular and least expensive fruit in the United States, the author shows how developments in international trade and transportation enabled banana shipments from the Caribbean to reach even the most remote North American towns. She describes how public health campaigns and marketing innovations enticed Americans to eat more and more of the fruit that came in its own ""germ-free"" packaging. She uses bananas to illustrate changes in diet and etiquette, shows how bananas symbolized the supposed danger or romance of the tropics, and visits the International Banana Festival in Fulton, Kentucky, which in its heyday touted banana consumption as a weapon against Communism - and featured a one-ton banana pudding."

Full Product Details

9781560989660

Table of Contents

Reviews

Jenkins's historical overview of the banana's production, marketing, and transporting makes this book a strong contribution to the growing field of food studies. -- Publishers Weekly<br> <br> In a vivid and often funny history, Jenkins charts how shifting diets and nutritional standards at the turn of the century, as well as more recent changes in food marketing and distribution, propelled the Caribbean fruit to widespread popularity and iconic stature in American culture. -- Discover

Jenkins's historical overview of the banana's production, marketing, and transporting makes this book a strong contribution to the growing field of food studies. --Publishers Weekly In a vivid and often funny history, Jenkins charts how shifting diets and nutritional standards at the turn of the century, as well as more recent changes in food marketing and distribution, propelled the Caribbean fruit to widespread popularity and iconic stature in American culture. --Discover

“Jenkins’s historical overview of the banana’s production, marketing, and transporting makes this book a strong contribution to the growing field of food studies.”—Publishers Weekly “In a vivid and often funny history, Jenkins charts how shifting diets and nutritional standards at the turn of the century, as well as more recent changes in food marketing and distribution, propelled the Caribbean fruit to widespread popularity and iconic stature in American culture.”—Discover

Jenkins's historical overview of the banana's production, marketing, and transporting makes this book a strong contribution to the growing field of food studies. -- Publishers Weekly In a vivid and often funny history, Jenkins charts how shifting diets and nutritional standards at the turn of the century, as well as more recent changes in food marketing and distribution, propelled the Caribbean fruit to widespread popularity and iconic stature in American culture. -- Discover

Author Information

"Virginia Scott Jenkins is a scholar in residence at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, Maryland. Jenkins' is also the author of The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession, which Publishers Weekly called ""a quirky, thoroughly enjoyable look at man vs. nature, man vs. woman, and man vs. the Joneses."""

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available