Cool bananas

November 14, 2013 4:20 AM

For decades, Iceland has been rumoured to be the largest producer of bananas in Europe. This factoid made the BBC quiz show Q.I. in 2006, and was cited as truth in a Christian Science Monitor article about geothermal energy in Iceland. Now the Reykjavík Grapevine digs deeper and reveals the provenance of this rumour and what truth there is in it (PDF; see page 6).
posted by acb (19 comments total)

I'd definitely heard that rumour, so it's enlightening to see it debunked. So the question now is, which country is the largest producer of bananas in Europe?

Aha. Apparently it's Spain. That'd be right.
posted by rory at 4:32 AM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

I have family in FL and was always fascinated by the oranges, avocadoes, mangoes, and whatnot that grew everywhere but when I visited Central America a few years ago and spotted a random banana tree just sort of growing by the side of a river I thought "This, truly, is a magical place."
posted by jquinby at 4:44 AM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Somebody in Iceland is doing some pretty good advertising design for that Grapevine paper.
posted by beagle at 4:48 AM on November 14, 2013

Top tip if you find yourself with a freshly cut bunch of bananas: the sap is clear. When it dries it goes the colour of shit brown and becomes a permanent stain.

This is doubly embarrassing if you have already wiped sap off your hands onto the back of your light-coloured trousers.
posted by MuffinMan at 4:55 AM on November 14, 2013 [3 favorites]

Here's another tip: you can refrigerate bananas, the peel turns brown but the fruit keeps longer. The belief that they cannot be refrigerated was intentionally started by Chiquita in order to sell more bananas.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 5:02 AM on November 14, 2013 [7 favorites]

jquinby: "I have family in FL and was always fascinated by the oranges, avocadoes, mangoes, and whatnot that grew everywhere but when I visited Central America a few years ago and spotted a random banana tree just sort of growing by the side of a river I thought "This, truly, is a magical place.""

But then daylight come and you want go home...
posted by Samizdata at 5:05 AM on November 14, 2013 [14 favorites]

Interesting, I was always dubious about the banana stat even though I was aware of the relative cheapness of excess Icelandic heat (IIRC something like 3% of all heat in Iceland is used for under road/pavement heating. There is also a beach in Reykjavik with a sort of harbour open to the North Atlantic where they heat the seawater so it is more comfortable for bathers). I have actually wandered around Hveragerdi looking for banana greenhouses. I only found ones growing roses and tomatoes.
posted by biffa at 5:40 AM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Bananas would go well with all that Icelandic honey.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:44 AM on November 14, 2013

So where are all the spaghetti trees, then?
posted by briank at 5:53 AM on November 14, 2013

The belief that they cannot be refrigerated was intentionally started by Chiquita United Fruit Company in order to sell more bananas keep Latin America under its thumb.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:08 AM on November 14, 2013 [2 favorites]

Banana trees are freaking disgusting. They're full of sticky-sweet sap so they're always covered in ants and wasps. They stink when the weather is really hot and decay sets in. Seriously, I will never forget the nauseating smell of the banana trees in the yard of my childhood home all summer. Once the flowers bloom, they're huge wasp magnets. If you live in a subtropical area and you plant them in your yard you will never ever get rid of them ever because it seems like even if you chop them down and uproot them, the damn things come back like mad. There are lots of banana trees growing in random ditches and empty lots around here because I guess people thought it was super-cool to grow them in their yards but they escaped.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 6:38 AM on November 14, 2013 [3 favorites]

qi sometimes really frustrates me with the mistruths they air. i know it's an entertainment program, but they put so much focus on their research that it gives it the air of truth. add that to the new segment where they put forward a balls crazy conspiracy and then shuttle you to a purpose made url to read more about it...i just wish they stuck to real, true facts.
posted by nadawi at 6:54 AM on November 14, 2013 [2 favorites]

nadawi, your comment reminded me of a recent comment on another thread bemoaning the realization that nothing from Q.I. seems to actually be true, valid or honest.

Perhaps a better way to watch that program is to believe everything is a hoax or a lie, then be pleasantly surprised when something is true, as if you were talking with a compulsive tall-tale teller.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:16 AM on November 14, 2013 [2 favorites]

QI is false? Stephen Fry overrated?

LALALALALALALA CAN'T HEAR YOU
posted by Carillon at 7:45 AM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

The biggest grower of bananas in mainland Europe is Greece, as the crops of Spain, France, and Portugal are grown in outland areas of those countries.

Also, the reason why the Icelandic banana was sweeter and tougher is most likely because it is of the Gros Michel variety. These were the main banana up until the 1950s when they were mostly killed off by blight. The Cavendish banana westerners eat today is said to be a sorry standin with far less taste.
posted by Thing at 9:26 AM on November 14, 2013 [2 favorites]

I’d definitely heard that rumour

I’d not only heard the rumor, years ago I was in an Icelandic greenhouse filled with growing bananas – a regular tour stop to show things off for visitors – so I knew there might be some validity to it. Thanks for posting the article, which explained things nicely.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:22 AM on November 14, 2013

Já, höfum við ekki banana?
posted by dhartung at 12:06 PM on November 14, 2013

Kitty Stardust: "Banana trees are freaking disgusting. They're full of sticky-sweet sap so they're always covered in ants and wasps."

(covers ears)

WORK ALL NIGHT AND A DRINK OF RUM

IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE
posted by jquinby at 3:50 PM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

They're full of sticky-sweet sap so they're always covered in ants and wasps."

The one in my backyard in suburban Sydney when I was growing up attracted these hornets the size of a grown man's thumb. Completely freaked me out as they flew around the yard with the heavy lumbering presence of a stinging mini harrier jump jet. As an adult I lived in a place in Glebe which had a banana tree without the hornets, but neither tree produced good bananas.

When I visit my family in Queensland there are lots of banana farms around, but their crops are all harvested ridiculously green, so we never get any from the farms either.
posted by bystander at 5:27 AM on November 15, 2013