Fyffes, Bananas, One Banded Bunch
Wonderfully sweet, firm and creamy, bananas are a favourite food for many, from young to old. They are available all year round and are a great source of vitamins and minerals, as well as fibre. Bananas are thought to have originated in Malaysia around 4,000 years ago but today are grown in most tropical and subtropical regions. Fyffes bananas grow in Central America, in countries such as Costa Rica, Belize, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Despite common belief, bananas don’t grow on trees but rather on plants, as they are in fact a giant herb! With the right care and attention, it takes a year for the baby plant to grow into a 3-6 metre-high banana plant. When the plant blossoms, the bananas appear. They start as tiny straight, thin fingers, but as they grow, they fill out and turn upwards, seeking out the sun, and start curving to take on their distinctive smiley shape!