Bananas

Bananas obviously don’t grow in Barcombe, or anywhere in the country. Ours come from the Dominican Republic and are always fairly traded. Whilst we all know reducing food miles is critical to reduce our environmental impact, those of you that couldn’t get started without one in the morning will be pleased to hear that as they are shipped rather than flown, their carbon footprint isn’t as high as you might fear. 80g of CO2 per large (160g) banana doesn’t look too bad when you learn a 250g punnet of out-of-season strawberries (airlifted or hothouse grown) creates almost three times the amount of CO2 (220g), without offering anymore energy (one banana contains ninety calories and an entire punnet of berries under that).

Banana bread is possibly the most popular use for these smile-shaped fruits, or if not, topping pancakes, without forgetting their ability to make smoothies instantly creamy. We like to freeze them in chunks and blend them up in a food processor with cacao and almond butter to make a speedy dairy-free ice cream that’s much cheaper than ones in fancy tubs! 
Have you ever tried barbecuing them in their skins, splitting them open and filling with (quickly melting) chocolate? Did you know a pub in East Sussex is purportedly the birthplace of Banoffee pie?!