During the coronavirus, people have become obsessed with many things. Whether it is checking the statistics every day to see how countries around the world are battling the virus or watching how-to videos on washing your hands, the world – which has been focusing on differences for so long – is now realizing how similar we all are. The crisis has brought people together in many ways. One of the strongest ways it has brought people together is in baking.
If you examine the Google Trends for the term banana bread worldwide you will see that it has spiked in the last few months. Prior to March 14th, 2020 the searches for banana bread were at a normal or low level. From March 14th the number of searches increased by 400% as the world became obsessed with making the delicious bread. That peak sustained until April 11th but since then people appeared to have moved on to other treats. The spike was clearly caused by more and more people under house quarantine or lockdown as part of the coronavirus. At a time when families were forced to stay indoors, many turned to pastimes that we had long forgotten as a way of bonding, comfort, and to pass the time.
Before the age of social media and the internet, baking was a skill that parents would pass on to their children. Time spent in the kitchen as a family was normal and to receive a special recipe that had been passed on from a grandparent to a parent and now to you was a special privilege. It is something that we have left behind as the pace of the world has increased. The coronavirus has allowed us to pause, if only for a moment, and to reconsider how we spend some of our time. Baking is one way to spend time with your family and to pass on some knowledge.
Banana bread is an obvious choice too as it is delicious and easy to make. The dense sweet bread is very comforting at a time when stress and tension are running high. If there was ever a time for comfort food, it is now. Banana bread is described as a one-bowl recipe. All it requires to make is bananas, sugar, fat, flour, and a chemical leavener. You simply put it all in a bowl and squish it together. From there you can add your own toppings or spreads to make it particularly delicious to your tastes.
The spike in searches has increased around the world with the highest countries being Ireland, Canada, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Kingdom. The topic was trending in areas of every continent of the world with parts of Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, and India all showing an increase in the search term. Clearly, the world has come together over its love of banana bread.
It is believed that banana bread started to become popular in the 1930s. The growing popularity and availability of baking powder made many baking recipes far easier to make. Banana bread may have started in the US around 1930 as housewives used the recipe to get rid of any bananas that were too ripe. The uglier a banana is, the sweeter the bread will taste.
Today bananas are the most popular fruit in the world (second most popular if you include the tomato) so it is no surprise that they feature in one of the most popular baking dishes as well. If you need some comfort food, want to spend time with your children or loved ones, or simply want an easy to make a delicious meal, follow the example of the world and start baking banana bread.