By 1991, a representative of Dunkin' Donuts told the press, "People are returning to the basics, to comfort food, away from the sophisticated excesses of the '80s." By 2009, "Comfort foods, those simple, familiar foods that conjure the image of 'home', are showing up on menus across the U.S.. Home-style menu offerings are becoming more popular in restaurants."
In any race, comfort food was said "always win". "Comfort food is personal," it was explained. "The meaning of comfort foods varies from person to person and place to place. For one person, it might be mashed potatoes and gravy, creamy soup or macaroni and cheese. Others might like a bowl of ice cream. When choosing food to comfort them, people often pick smooth-textured foods that are easy to eat."
One food arbiter insisted in 1991, "Doughnuts won't become popular as something that is chic, but something that is retro-chic. Doughnuts are lumpish, lunky, greasy, heavy and nutritionally wanton in all the ways that people know they shouldn't go. People are eating them as a backlash to the health mania."
During the Depression doughnuts were called "the poor man's rich food."
An old favorite was banana bread, the recipe first appeared in a southern cookbook in 1933. "I might look at a cookbook, but I don't look at the instructions. If it needs a little pinch here or a dash there, I'll just toss it in," one baker confessed. It was said, "Banana bread has long been one of the most popular baked items in any collection of recipes."
Banana, "the most ancient of fruits...fat free, rich in potassium, fiber and vitamins." Anthropologists believed bananas were first grown in Southern Asia around 2000BC, "cultivation spread to the Middle East and then to Africa." Bananas were first sold in the New World in 1870. By the turn of the 20th century, bananas had become a favorite fruit in the United States.
Kit Snedaker of Copley News Service made the point in 1988, "I never believed an apple got Adam and Eve in trouble. For one thing, the Garden of Eden must have been tropical – no snow. Ever see an apple tree in the Caribbean? In Hawaii at sea level? But bananas - yes!" It was argued in 1896, "The banana, which alone of fruits possesses all the essentials to the sustenance of human life, is worth more than all the others, and is thus the most valuable in the world." It was mentioned in 1984, "Banana is not a tree. It's the largest plant on earth without a woody stem. Banana plants are actually giant herbs of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms. Banana plants thrive in tropical climates. The banana plant is one of the most productive of food plants, even through it bears fruit only once. In less than a year after planting, banana stems, averaging about 150 bananas each are ready for harvesting."
Tropical fruits could not be grown in the chilly American climate hence the U.S. usually imported bananas from places such as Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in 1998 banana outsold the apple and the orange. By 2013, "The global banana-bread craze makes perfect sense when you consider that bananas are now the world's No. 1 fruit, way ahead of apples, oranges or pears. More than that, bananas are the world's 4th biggest food staple, after rice, wheat and corn."
Kit Snedaker of Copley News Service made the point in 1988, "I never believed an apple got Adam and Eve in trouble. For one thing, the Garden of Eden must have been tropical – no snow. Ever see an apple tree in the Caribbean? In Hawaii at sea level? But bananas - yes!" It was argued in 1896, "The banana, which alone of fruits possesses all the essentials to the sustenance of human life, is worth more than all the others, and is thus the most valuable in the world." It was mentioned in 1984, "Banana is not a tree. It's the largest plant on earth without a woody stem. Banana plants are actually giant herbs of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms. Banana plants thrive in tropical climates. The banana plant is one of the most productive of food plants, even through it bears fruit only once. In less than a year after planting, banana stems, averaging about 150 bananas each are ready for harvesting."
Tropical fruits could not be grown in the chilly American climate hence the U.S. usually imported bananas from places such as Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in 1998 banana outsold the apple and the orange. By 2013, "The global banana-bread craze makes perfect sense when you consider that bananas are now the world's No. 1 fruit, way ahead of apples, oranges or pears. More than that, bananas are the world's 4th biggest food staple, after rice, wheat and corn."
It was noted, "Banana Bread is ideal for sandwiches…Sandwiches have been part of virtually all cuisines since well before any written records were kept, but they have not always been called sandwiches." Sandwiches, "2 pieces of bread with a filling", were invented by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich in 1762. Captain James Cook named the Sandwich (Hawaiian) islands for the Earl. However it was reported in 1954, "There are almost as many different theories about the origin of the sandwich as there are varieties of this great American favorite...Some say sandwiches in one form or another were common with the ancient Babylonians, and that the Greeks and Romans enjoyed this type food at their fabulous banquets."
By 1954, "sandwiches play a big part in the food habits of almost all Americans and people elsewhere in the world. They are used as the main item on the family noon-day table or at supper. Sandwiches are an integral part of every lunch box, and of course, they are the most important part of any picnic. No outdoor meal is complete without a variety of sandwiches. Two favorites on any picnic, at the ball game, or in the home are the hot dog and the hamburger." The hot dog was invented in Frankfurt, Germany about 1852 and introduced to Americans about 1883. It became a favorite food around 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair.
By 1954, "sandwiches play a big part in the food habits of almost all Americans and people elsewhere in the world. They are used as the main item on the family noon-day table or at supper. Sandwiches are an integral part of every lunch box, and of course, they are the most important part of any picnic. No outdoor meal is complete without a variety of sandwiches. Two favorites on any picnic, at the ball game, or in the home are the hot dog and the hamburger." The hot dog was invented in Frankfurt, Germany about 1852 and introduced to Americans about 1883. It became a favorite food around 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair.
It was pointed out, "Sandwiches are used more often for lunches, but some of them go extremely well at breakfast or at dinner." Describing "food is fun", Winnifred Jardine maintained in 1954, "Apple-banana bread is delicious treat." One observer made the comment in 1886, "The banana is a fruit that many do not favor upon the first trial, but each succeeding one is sure to bring it into increased favor, and time only strengthens its hold upon its friends."
