Ever wonder what Wal-Mart sells the most of? Come on, guess. Ya think it’s bread, or milk, or bottled water? How about toilet paper? Wrong, wrong, wrong and – you guessed it – wrong again.

The biggest seller at the world’s largest retailer is, ta-dum – the ever-popular banana.

That’s right, the yellow submarine-like fruit that you peel to reveal your meal.

Betcha didn’t have a hunch it was that bunch.

Nor did yours truly.

I was listening to Marketplace Morning Report on public radio the other day and Stacey Vanek-Smith was interviewing Hugo Lindgren of Bloomberg BusinessWeek about the world’s most popular things. Turns out that at the top of the list are the 3-D movie “Avatar” and bananas.

I guess people around the world go ape over both.

Lindgren revealed that 91 million metric tons of bananas are harvested annually. That’s about 170 bananas per person.

No wonder I’m tired of having them sliced on my cereal for breakfast.

But on the other hand, bananas make a pretty nutritious snack, they’re simple to prepare and they taste good.

Guess that’s why Wal-Mart sells so many of them. Not to mention, monkeys go bananas over them and fruit flies find extra-ripe ones worthy of celebratory aerial acrobatic displays.

An average banana contains about 89 calories from 22.8 grams of carbohydrates, half of which are sugar. You get 2.6 grams of dietary fiber and a gram of protein.

As for vitamins, 28 percent of your B-6 and 15 percent of your C come from one banana.

If you want to replenish your electrolytes, a banana provides 358 milligrams of potassium.

Bananas are native to Southeast Asia and believed to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. But they do well all over the tropics and are known to grow in at least 107 countries.

Surprisingly, only 10 to 15 percent of sweet bananas are exported, mostly to the United States and Europe.

That means picking the fruit while green, storing at 55 degrees for three or four weeks during storage and transport, and then at 63 degrees with a treatment of ethylene.

Once they begin turning yellow, they’re placed in grocery stores.

I like the junior bananas but they’re often hard to find. One junior is plenty for a sandwich or on the breakfast cereal.

Bet you can guess what my favorite dessert is. Nanner puddin’, natch, but only if it’s done right.

I was raised eating nanner puddin’ topped with meringue rather than the lazy cook’s whipped cream. And the dish has to be baked in the oven, not mixed with instant pudding.

Sorry, I’m just that way.

As for sandwiches, in a pinch I go for the simple banana slices between two pieces of bread with mayo. When I’m feeling fat and sassy, I like the Elvis recipe – bananas and peanut butter.

My wife Ginny has been known to freeze bananas, then put them in a blender with milk to form a neat shake.

Oh, did I tell you I’m a freak for homemade banana ice cream?

Just thought you ought to know.



Larry Penkava, who has written Now and Then since 1994, could survive in a banana republic. He can be reached at lpenkava@randolphguide.com