I was enjoying a banana the other day, one of my favorite fruits, and got to wondering about it. I think of the banana as a portable package of vitamins and minerals that nature has sweetened to make it perfectly palatable.

Bananas have always been in my food lexicon. As far back as I can remember (which is further than I like to admit), bananas have always been an available snack food. What I was wondering is, when did bananas make their debut in America? Did my mother’s generation embrace the tropical fruit in the 1920s and 1930s? What about my grandfather’s generation?

I recall my Great-Uncle Ferd happily downing very ripe bananas every day. (He was a grocer in the small Minnesota town in the mid-1900s, so I assume he developed a habit of taking home the bananas that did not move from the shelf, and it carried over.) But there they were.

What about my great-grandparents, some of the early settlers of that north country? Could the banana have been a seasonal treat even then?

Thank you, Internet. I had to delve in.

It turns out bananas are another of those ancient foods, traceable back to Southeast Asia and cultivated as long ago as 5,000 BCE. From there, they were carried, most likely by Arabian explorers, to Africa and eventually to the Caribbean and Central and South American countries. Today, bananas are cultivated in more than 135 countries — but only a relatively small percentage of the 80 million tons of bananas grown are exported.

Americans “discovered” bananas in the mid-1850s, and by 1870 (right around the time my great-grandparents began populating Minnesota), bananas were coming by boat up to Boston and being distributed from there. Two decades later, bananas were moved by train to New Orleans. Dispersing the banana westward was most likely hastened with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869.

So is it likely Great-Grandpa was loving the banana on a daily basis? Probably not. Moving the delicate fruit beyond the borders of large, interconnected cities to less settled outposts most likely took another generation.

Because bananas have long been touted for not only their nutritional value, but for their affordability, growing up during the Great Depression may not have meant growing up without bananas when my mother was young. All I know is that by the 1960s (after the banana became the pivotal point of political upset in Central American countries and after fungal disease of the 1940s-50s wiped out many plantations, giving rise to the cultivation of the Grand Cavendish banana, now most common), bananas were as expected in the produce section of even the smallest grocery store as would have been the native-grown apples.

What of the nutritional value? Bananas are a good source of potassium, which regulates fluids in the body and nerve signals, and manganese, which helps regulate blood sugar and supports nerve function. They are high in vitamins B6, C, and A, and provide energy-giving carbohydrates and protein (hence their post-marathon popularity) — all while being low-fat and only 80ish calories per banana. They are a satisfying and satisfactory in-between-meal supplement.

(Incidentally, plantains, a “cooking banana” traditionally used in Caribbean cuisine, are higher in potassium and vitamins A and C than the “dessert banana.”)

The “food of paradise,” as it was known to early Islam culture, does remain at risk of being wiped out by disease at some future date, being primarily a monocultural product. My hope, however, is to not see a revival of the 1920s popular tune, “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” in my lifetime.

Meanwhile, I will celebrate bananas — be they grand and yellow, tiny, red, or plantain, and be grateful that I am of a generation that can take this curvy berry for granted.

Quick Banana “Ice Cream”

A delicious nondairy alternative to ice cream and a great way to use up over-ripened bananas (just in case they don’t have the appeal my Uncle Ferd found in them):

*3 large very ripe bananas, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces. Wrap in freezer paper or place in freezer-proof container and freeze until very hard.

*Place the frozen banana chunks into a food processor with steel blade. Pulse until pieces are very broken up, then process briefly until bananas are smooth.

*Eat immediately, while the “ice cream” is cold.

*If you like, add a teaspoon of cocoa or carob powder to the bananas before processing or stir in chocolate chips or berries for serving.